Full text of "A record of the exercises in honor of Rev. Edmund Dowse, D.D. who completed his sixtieth year as pastor of Pilgrim Church, Sherborn, October tenth, 1898. Also a brief history of Pilgrim church: A biography of Doctor Dowse and the principal features of the published record of the Jubilee Celebration 1888"

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SHERBORN LIBRARY

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A RECORD OF THE

EXERCISES

IN HONOR OF

REV. EDMUND DOWSE, D.D.

WHO COMPLETED HIS SIXTIETH YEAR
AS PASTOR OF PILGRIM CHURCH
SHERBORN, OCTOBER TENTH,
1898.

ALSO

A BRIEF HISTORY OF PILGRIM CHURCH: A BIOGRAPHY
OF DOCTOR DOWSE ANDTHE PRINCIPAL FEATURES OF
THE PUBLISHED RECORD OF THE JUBILEE CELEBRA-
TION 1888.

CHARL

FRANCIS ADAM1

SHERBOKN, MASS. :

( ’HAS. F ADAMS,
1898.

PREFACE.

The publication of this volume is for the purpose of putting
into permanent form the exercises which were given in honor of Dr.
Edmund Dowse upon completing sixty yeirs of consecutive service
as the pastor of Pilgrim Church, Sherborn, Mass.

In but few instances has Dr. Dowse’s achievement in point of
service been surpassed and in some respect the beloved pastor’s
career is altogether unparallelled in the history of America. So far
as the author is able to learn only two pastors in Massachusetts
preached for a longer period than had Dr. Dowse on the day of his
celebration- One of these was Dr. Nathanial Appleton of Cam-
bridge, who continued in active service for sixty-six years. But he
did not, like Dr. Dowse, administer in his native town to his own
people and the people with whom he had mingled in childhood and
youth.

The record of Dr. Dowse is more than remarkable. It is a
direct and outshining blessing of Providence upon this man who in
all his life-vork for the Master has forgotten self, doing only the
things which were right and in the interests of humanity to which
his life was consecrated.

The records of the tributes of highest esteem and respect and

PREFACE.

honor conferred ; of admiration and praise bestowed; and of the
heartiest well wishes for health and continuity of service tendered,
are therefore highly worthy of preservation, and the possessor of
this little volume containing such, has in it a treasure that in time to
come shall be as precious as the influence of this good and upright
man has ever been and must ever be. It is sufficient to commend
the book for the home of every acquaintance of Dr. Dowse.

For the errors of typography the author asks no indulgence.
Such as there may be are excused by the difficulties attending the
publication. He would, however, offer an apology: To the readers
of the volume, for the omission of one of the principle speeches of
the day ; to Judge Robert R. Bishop, who so kindly and so gener-
ously furnished extracts of his remarks for this especial work

The omission occurs through the loss of the manuscript, though
in what way or where is a mystery, but whose loss was not known
until too late to secure a second copy.

It was this esteemed Justice of the Superior Court of Suffolk
County, who in the course of his remarks, slid thit, although he
was not a Sherborn citizen he had done the next best thing and
married a Holliston lady whose mother was a citizen of Sherborn,
and a descendent of Henry Leland, one of the first settlers in
Sherborn.

For this reason the omission of the Judge’s remarks will be re-
gretted; but there is a yet greater, for it was when Justice Bishop
was directing the parliamentary tactics of the Senate that Dr.
Dowse began his chaplaincy in that body, and his reference to those
early days was interesting, and valuable from an historical stand-
point. The loss is a most lamentable one.

Chas. Francis Adams.

Anniversary Exercises.

PART I.

PRELIMINARIES.

With the coming of October, 1898 a decade would have
come and passed since any official or specific recognition of the
anniversaries of Dr. Dowse’s ordination as pastor of Pilgrim
Church. It was therefore decided early in this year to observe in
fitting and as elaborate a manner as the physical abilities of the
pastor would permit, the sixtieth anniversary of his ordination.

The first meeting of the parish to consider the matter was
held in the vestry of the Pilgrim Church on the evening of Septem-
ber 13th.

Interest in the proposed celebration was attested by the large
number attending.

Deacon Oliver N. Barber was chosen chairman of the meeting
and Miss Florence L. Blanchard, secretary.

Various plans for the observance of the day were outlined and
finally that presented by Mrs. D. P. D. Coolidge was adopted, pro-
viding for a half day celebration, and consisting of a collation served
especially for out of town guests, directly after one o’clock p. m.
exercises of two hours duration in the church auditorium and fol-

()

A N N I V E r S A RY E XKRt’IS E S .

lowed by a reception by Dr. Dowse to all present.

Committees similar in duties and numbers to those of the
Jubilee celebration were then appointed, and many of those who
constituted the personel of these committees in 1888 were ac-
corded the honor a second time, while others who were but children
then became competent committee members on this occasion.

The membership of committees as finally determined was as
follows;

CORRESPONDING SECRETARY

Mrs- L Coolidge.

EXECUTIVE.

Frank T. Daniels, Chairman ; William H. Coolidge, J- Eames,
Mrs. L. Coolidge, Mrs. Frank T. Daniels, Mrs. N. T-
Stone.

INVITATION AND PROGRAM.

W. B. H- Dowse, Chairman ; Geo. H. Bullard, Mrs. L.
Coolidge.

RECEPTION.

Deacon O. N. Barber, Chairman ; Mrs. Barber, N. S. Stone,
Mrs. Stone, Dr. A. H- Blanchard, Mrs- Blanchard, Mrs*
Abbie Leland, Miss Alice Fleming, H- Waldo Howe, Mrs-
Howe, H. Allen, Mrs. Allen-

DECORATION.

Miss Belle S- Cragin Chairman , Miss E- J- Aikman, Mrs- Sarah
Roberts, Emmons Standish, Geo- Sparahawk, Miss Elizabeth
Coolidge, Miss Alice Fleming, William Dearth, Elijah C-
Barber.

MUSIC.

Mrs* C- Miller, Chairman ; Miss F. L. Blanchard, J. Eames,
W. B. H- Dowse.

COLLATION.

Geo- Sparahawk, Chairman ; Mrs. Sparahawk, Mrs. J- Perry-

PRELIMINARIES.

Dowse, J. W. Barber Mrs- J- Eames, Mrs- O- N- Barber, Chas.
Francis Adams-

USHERS.

E- C. Barber, Leroy Eames, Geo- Harthertz, H. Allen,
W- Dearth, A- J- Barber, O. H- Howe, A- V- Munroe-

All the committees began to formulate their plans and put
them into execution without delay. Solicitors were appointed by
the executive committee to visit each family attending church in
Dr. Dowse’s parish, and money and material for the collation was
secured in abundance.

Most of the preliminary work devolved on three committees,
the executive, decoration and collation, the former, under the lead
of chairman Frank T. Daniels and Mrs. L. Coolidge, having,
of course, the larger share. They not only gave instructions for
the other committees, but personally saw that they were faithfully
carried out and it was due, in no small measure, to this fact that
the celebration program was so harmoniously and admirably carried
out.

Mr. George Sparahawk was the competent head of the colla-
tion committee. Both he and Mrs. Sparahawk have had wide ex-
perience in such matters while living in Roxbury, and so it was that
under their direction every little detail so necessary for a successful
final result was attended to in advance, so that when the thirteenth
of October came and with it the rush after the arrival of trains, in
a measure unexpected, there was not the slightest hitch, and every
guest was served promptly and abundantly; indeed the preparation
was so thorough and ample that many were served a second time
before leaving for home, and there was food remaining. During the
whole of the afternoon all the members of this committee worked
their hardest as did also the young ladies who volunteered to serve as
waiters.

A X XI YE R S A RY EXE R C ISES.

COLLATION.

The collation was served in the vestry, the walls of which were
decorated entirely with large American flags. About two thirds of
the room was required for the purpose. Along the north side of
the hall was a long table covered with snow white table cloths,
decorated with beautiful cut flowers, and loaded with the good
things that were to form a part of the collation. Directly in front
of the door leading to the vestry kitchen was a table on which was
placed piles of plates and mugs, knives, forks, spoons, napkins,
etc., in easy reach of the waiters. Behind the table stood members
of the committee to pass out fresh food and take the dirty dishes
and pass them to dish washers at the sink. Coffee was served
from a large tank close by, and this luxurious beverage was
furnished ready made by C. H. McKechnie of Natick. Meats,
bread and butter were purchased by Mr. Sparahawk. The greater
part of the cake and pastry was contributed.

DECORATION.

The labors of the decoration committee were the most promin-
ent, and for that reason, perhaps, the most difficult of any part of
the preparation. The management, however, was in good hands,
Miss Belle S. Cragin, who was chiirman ten years ago having the
same honor this year. In the auditorium where the principal
decorations were, the central idea was to obtain an effect neither
too sombre nor too gay, and this result was most admirable ac-
complished. It was a beautiful October setting perfectly in har-
mony with the autumn of the service of the loved pastor, in whose
honor the fete was given. No colors were allowed but green and
red in all the varying shades that Nature alone can produce, rang-
ing from the bright red salveato the dark green foliage with a
little white here and there, all blended so skillfully than one could

PRELIMINARIES

feel, upon entering the church, that there was harmony between the
exercises and the decorations. Jere Long of Holliston greatly as-
sisted the work of this committee by the loan of loads of tropical
ferns and palms, which were grouped along the chancel railing and
in the rear corners of the auditorium. The fine spray of asparagus
formed an excellent back ground for the intertwining of vines and
autumn le aves and red berries along the ch ancel railing and about
the pulpit. On the organ loft were potted foli age plants, between
which were red daliahs, making a very pretty view against the
white and gold of the organ pipes.. Above these were the figures
in green and red “I838--1 898” and still higher near the extreme
top of the organ was a wreath of smakebush. Along the sides of
the church, placed in the l amp brackets, were pots of vines trailing
their green lengths nearly to the floor. In the rear beneath the
gallery was the only profusion of brightness, so placed as to remind
one, who ch anced to look back, of the summer days of extreme
gladness now passed, yet not obliberated or entirely superceded.
On the post of the pulpit steps, at either side were clusters of red
and white pinks, and upon a stand to the left of the pulpit was a
vase containing sixty beautiful roses, contributed by Hon. Chas,
W. Hoit, of Nashua. N. H., and at one time a teacher in the public
schools of Sherborn. Many of the flowers used were contributed
by interested friends, among which were a huge basket from the
Midelesex and Norfolk Pomona Grange, a profusion of beautiful
garden blooms from Mrs. G. W. Fleming, Mrs. Abbie Leland and
V. Ware, beside those contributed by members of the parish and a
whole wagon load from Mr. W. B. H. Dowse’s garden at Newton,
including sixty carnation pinks, symbolic of the anniversary, as
were the roses by Mr. Hoit. There were also many flowers of Mr.
Bradford Dowse’s gift in the vestry.

ANN I VERS ARY EXERCISES.

MUSIC.

The work of the music committee, Mrs. C. Miller, chairman,
was highly prized for it enabled the audience to listen to the music,
of the Germania orchestra, to organ music by Miss Florence L.
Blanch ird, one of the most accomplished organists; and to singing
by Mrs. Carrie Belle Miller, of Sherborn, contralto and Wm.
Taylor of Boston, tenor.

RECEPTION.

The reception committee’s part of the celebration, under the
direction of O. N. Barber, began at one o’clock and was remark-
ably well performed in directing the great concourse of people first
to the vestry to lay aside wraps, and partake of a lunch, and then
conduct them to the ushers who found them seats, as long as there
were vacant ones in the auditorium and gallery.

The perfect work of the foregoing committees result in an
occasion in which there were no perceptible drawbacks or unfortu-
nate circumstances, and for which there was but praise on every
hand.

INVITATIONS.

The committee on invitations had six hundred invitations en-
graved from a steel plate which were sent to Dr. Dowse’s acquain-
tances during twenty years of service in the Massachusetts Senate,
to those once connected with the church but now at a distance, and
to all the elderly people of Sherborn who have known Dr. Dowse
through all their lives. There was also a general invitation given
to all citizens of Sherborn and read from the pulpits of both
churches; and also a general invitation was extended to all mem-
bers of the parishes which make up the Middlesex South Confer-
ence, through their respective pastors. There are twenty churches
in the Conference and every one was represented at the celebration.
The invitations bore the following inscription in steel ;

PRELIMINARIES.

/ S ; S

iScjS

i a, o.f c

c ■ ri t cIvcl It j r rts'ieeted te le jet-el'Crtst

c /< ci

Os t the cel cl Losteerts eji
J l e (J t / tietlis jhlrvnsisi • eti cul- y-

ej tic J OslstdOste cjs

Ijjis. Cct re Us'rts cJ jb eufic- ,

l tie iPllcjsii nv ~ho luslel cjs 'Sletlcirts ,

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jlizt'j co. >j (ZjhciAAseo-n. , ( del el / -j tic }
ll colt cere ho (noetic < o n cl everts d'^ ee^nh t ,

a x x r v !•: usa ry e x e uc rs es.

The programs were prepared by this committee and were very
tine. The steel plate inscription upon the cover of each program
is reproduced in another section of this book, devoted to the exer-
cises.

A X X I V E RS A R Y SEND \ Y .

Sunday, Oct. 9th, the Sabbath preceding the day upon which
Dr. Dowse was to close sixty years as pastor of Pilgrim Church,
was designated as “Anniversary Sunday” and the services through-
out the day were prepared with special reference to the important
event.

Mrs. J. Perry Dowse had charge of the floral decorations and
very tastily arranged the autumn blooms and tinted foliage about
the pulpit before the morning service. When the pastor appeared
before his congregation on this October day he seemed no more
aged than when he delivered a memorable sermon on a similar oc-
casion ten years before. As brilliant in countenance, as firm in
step, as strong in voice, as vigorous in health and action, there was
no perceptible change during these ten years visible to the large
concourse of interested citizens who had come to offer silent con-
gratulations.by their presence.

Dr. Dowse preached one of the most beautiful and helpful
sermons that he has ever delivered.

The text was taken from 1 Timothy 4: 8, “Godliness is profit-
able unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of
that which is to come.”

The discourse was an exemplification of his own life. His ex-
perience has taught him that godliness is profitable unto all things,
—-and what man is better able to preach this truth than Dr.
Dowse?— and from the time of the preaching of his first sermon

PRELIMINARIES. 13

after his ordination in this same pulpit, from the words, “I am not
ashamed of the gospel of Christ,” he his found godliness profitable
unto all things.

There was a vein of sadness running through the sermon,
in harmony with the nature of the pastor’s remarks, but the beauti-
ful and touching illustrations that he used gave his hearers an in-
sight into the inner impulses that have helped to place Dr. Dowse
in the high position that he occupies today.

Miss May, the organist, rendered a special program of music
and Mrs. Canbel Miller sang that beautiful solo, by Gilbert
“The realms of endless day.” The anthem by the choir was
from Emerson, “The Lord Reigneth.”

At the evening service in addition to the congregational singing
were three solos, “Oh to be there,” by Mrs. Miller; “When the
Clouds have Rolled Away,” by Miss Sadie Moore; and “The Beauti-
ful Hills,” by Miss Florence Fleming.

The pastor’s talk was upon “Sixty Years of Pastorate,” fol-
lowing along something of the same line as his morning sermon.

The remainder of the service was devoted to the reading of the
history of Pilgrim Church by J. W. Barber, made especially ap-
propriate for the anniversary Sunday.

Anniversary Exercises.

PART II.

"TWEI I=>I=?CZ>&F=?A]VT=

It is a pleasant thing- to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary
of a pastor’s ministrations in one parish ;

It is a rare privilege to celebrate that same pastor’s fortieth an-
niversary of service among the same people :

It is a jubilee in the highest for pastor and people, that marks
that faithful servant’s half century of untiring and unremitting
labor for humanity in Christ’s name, ---within the narrow field of
childhood’s and youth’s acquaintances:

When ten more years are added, a full three score rounded
out, and the counsellor of three generations still the spiritual advisor
of a rising fourth, there is a grandness, a sublimity, that marks the
occasion as though it were a special blessing of Providence;— upon
the head of the aging minister for his devotion to the people and
the thoroughness of his work among them; upon the people for
their acceptance of the Disciple of Christ and his retention as their
guide and instructor:

These are the epochs of a remarkable career; each is inter-

THE PROGRAM.

woven into the fabric of a life whose parallel may not be found,
and within the covers of this volume each of these “anniversary
mile stones” finds a worthy place. Of the last this chapter treats.

On the tenth of October, 1 838 Dr. Dowse was ordained pas-
tor of Pilgrim Church, Sherborn. The sixtieth anniversary of that
event legally fell upon Monday, October tenth, I898, but owing to
the annual meeting of the American Board of Foreign Missionaries
held the week previous in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a number of
clergy who had been invited and were expected to participate- in the
exercises could not be present on the tenth, and accordingly it was
decided that the exercises could very properly be held three days
later upon the thirteenth of the month..

It was a glorious day; full of autumnal beauty and warmth,
quite in contrast to that of ten years ago, which although clear and
bright was cold and piercing, and an excellent opportunity for the
elderly people in the vicinity and to those at a distance was thereby
afforded.

Soon after the hour of noon guests began to arrive and con-
tinued to do so until late in the afternoon, some who were unable
to be present at the formal ceremonies being there to attend the
reception by Dr. Dowse and offer their congratulations and best
wishes.

One very pleasant feature of the early exercises was the fine
program of popular music an hour or more in length, rendered by
the Germania band of Boston upon the church green in front of
the edifice.

At two o’clock the pews in the auditorium and every seat in
the gallery was occupied. Settees were brought and placed in the
aisles affording seats for many, while yet very many more could
find standing room only in the vestibules and even a few were
obliged to remain outside, so large was the attendance.

16 ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES.

The program of exercises which eich guest received upon ea
tering the church was as follows:

/ 8 ;> 8

iSc/S

■U- r- / 2- / / 2^2 -t- o- & 2 .V-

cut tu Uu/'tuc tiu uAn,nst,ipe/L4sCulvjs oj,
t'/utu uu^ to'Lcuie, <? j'

A. ~^)dnuuu/nx: jb&uf-le, f

tJu& j ulcjst unu ~(8jLtu~ Csf'U Cut odtZlL X^lfU
c ru ( 'cd®A e/- tfcilt tJLj / &cj 8 .

THE PROGRAM.

EXERCISES

Thursday afternoon at 2 o’clock.

ORGAN PRELUDE.

INVOCATION Rev. E. E. Strong, D. D.

ORCHESTRA.

READING OF SCRIPTURES Rev. Geo. M. Adams, D. D.

PRAYER Rev. H. J. Patrick

SINGING

ADDRESS OF CONGRATULATION Rev. L. R. Eastman

ORCHESTRA. #

ADDRESS By the Pastor

ORCHESTRA.

SHORT ADDRESSES

SINGING.

ORIGINAL HYMN By Rev. Edward N. Pomeroy

BY THE CONGREGATION.

BENEDICTION Rev. F. E. Sturgis, D. D.

ORCHESTRA.

RECEPTION BY THE PASTOR.

] <s

ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES.

Promptly at two o’clock the church organ pealed forth a joy-
ous strain.

Miss Florence Leslie Blanchard of Sherborn, a graduate of the
Boston Conservatory of Music and a most accomplished musician,
presided, rendering two selections, the first being Gloria,” the
first and second movement from Farmers’ Mass in B flat and the
second the “War March of the Priests,” by Mendelssohn.

At the close of the organ prelude Rev. E, E. Strong D. D.
of Auburndale, secretary of the A. B. F. M. and editor of the
Missionary Herald came forward and delivered the invocation.
The Germania Orchestra of Boston then rendered its first selection
and was followed by the reading of the Scripture by Rev. G. M.
Adams, D. D. of Auburndale, and prayer by the blind pastor Rev.
H. J- Patrick of Newton, a familiar divine in the Pilgrim pulpit

Dr- Adams’ exceedingly appropriate scripture reading was
in these words :

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that
bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good
tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion,
Thy God reigneth. Break forth into joy, sing ye waste places of
Jerusalem. The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad
for them ; and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. It
shall blossom abundantly and rejoice even with joy and singing.

“What man is he that desireth life and loveth many days that
he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil and thy lips from
speaking guile. Depart from evil and do good. Seek peace and
pursue it. My son forget not my law, but let thine heart keep my
commandments; for length of days and long life and peace shall they
add unto thee. With aged men is wisdom, and in length of days
understanding. 1 said days should speak and multitude of years

THE PROGRAM.

should teach wisdom.

“And now behold the Lord hath kept me alive these many
years, even since the Lord spake this word unto Moses, and now
lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. As yet I am as
strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me; as my
strength was then, even so is my strength now. Those that be
planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our
God. They sh ill still bring forth fruit in old age ; they shall be full
of sap and flourishing; to show that the Lord is upright, he is my
rock and there is no unrighteousness in him.

“1 exhort therefore that first of all supplications, prayers, in-
tercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men ; for kings
and aH that are in authority ; that we may lead a quiet and peace-
able life in all godliness and honesty.

“Ye know from the first day that 1 came into Asia, after
what manner I have been with you at all seasons: and how I kept
back nothing that was profitable unto you, but hive showed you
and have taught you publicly and from house to house. I thank
my God upon all my remembrance of you always in every sup-
plication of mine in behalf of you all, making my supplication
with joy, for your fellowship in furtherance of the gospel, from
the first day until now. For God is my record how greatly I long-
after you all in the tender mercies of Jesus Christ. And this 1
pray that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge
and all discernment. Therefore my brethren, dearly beloved, my
joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord my dearly beloved. And
the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your
hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Following the prayer was the solo by Mrs. Miller, of Sherborn,
formerly of New York, whose rich contralto voice is greatly ad-

ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES.

mired wherever she sings. By request the song by Gilbert, “The
Realms of Endless day,” sung on anniversary Sunday was repeated.
It is a solo remarkably well adapted for Mrs. Miller’s voice and the
music made a profound impression upon the audience.

Rev. F. E. Sturgis D. D. of the Congregational Church at
Natick, master of ceremonies, took charge of the exercises at this
stage.

Dr- Sturgis is intimately acquainted with most of the speakers
who participated in the exercises, and coupled with his well known
brilliancy of wit and humor, which enables him to delight the audi-
ence at the same time paying a generous tribute to the speaker
whom he may be introducing, made the selection of the Doctor as
chairman of the day exceptionally appropriate-

Dr. Sturgis’ introductory remarks were exceedingly brief, as
the time allotted for speeches was limited and the list of speakers a
long one. In fact the chairman contined himself strictly to the
brief sentences necessary to introduce speakers and audience, de-
priving himself of the privilege of making more extended remarks
which he had prepared for the occasion These remarks, however
appear in the section devoted to the speeches of the day by special
request of Dr. Dowse, who felt, as indeed others do, that the omis-
sion of the words of his brother pastor was to be greatly regretted,
and should at least be published in the anniversary book.

Rev. Lucius R-. Eastman of Framingham was first intro-
duced as the second in apostolic succession in length of service
in the district, and as he was so thoroughly acquainted with the
pastor in whose honor the welcome was extended, Rev- Mr.
Eastman had been selected to deliver it-

The addiess in full will be found, in connection with the other
add resses, in the following chapter.

THE PROGRAM. .

Dr. Dowse replied somewhat briefly. He seemed quite em-
barassed by the sincere words of tribute and honor showered upon
him, but he responded in his usually pleasant style, though confess-
ing he was deeply moved by Dr. Eastman's welcome extended in
behalf of the Conference and invited guests. Dr. Dowse reviewed
in a modest manner many of the incidents in his public life, both in
the ministry and as chaplain of the Senate.

Then came a tenor solo by Mr. Henry Taylor, “The Holy
City,” by Adams, with orchestra accompaniment. Mr. Taylor is a
fellow student with Mrs. Miller, under Mrs. L. P. Morrill of Boston
and has a voice of great power and promise. After this solo came
a series of short addresses by different speakers. Hon. G. E. Smith,
president of the Massachusetts Senate ; Judge Robert R. Bishop,
president of the Senate when Dr- Dowse became chaplain, and
at present a Judge of the Supreme Court; and Hon. George G.
Crocker, also an ex- president of the Senate since Dr. Dowse’s
chaplaincy, and introduced as “the man who put the subway
through;” Rev. D. W. Waldron, chaplain of the Massachusetts
House of Representatives for twenty years, and superintendent of
the Boston Home for Little wanderers, Rev. R. K. Harlow, who
has recently celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of his pastorate
over the Congregational church in Medway; Rev. Dr. A. H.
Wellman of Malden, formerly settled in South Natick; and Rev.
F. E. Emrich of Grace Congregational church at South Framing-
ham.

Rev. John Wood, of Fitchburg, was called for at this point,
Mr. Wood was a classmate of Dr. Dowse at Amherst. He arose in
one of the front seats, thin and bowed with ninety years, and lean-
ing on crutches, but strong in voice and alert in spirit. He said he
had been present at the fortieth and fiftieth anniversaries of Dr,

ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES.

Dowse’s pastorate, and although he hid not been on the cars for
two years he had brought a man to take care of him that he might
attend the sixtieth.

His remarks were very entertaining,- and he ended with the
hope that the Lord would give Dr. Dowse humility for the occasion.
He then left the house attended by his friend, Rev. Mr. Conrad, of
Fitchburg.

After Mr. Wood, Rev. F. N. Peloubet was called upon,
followed by Rev. Thomas Holmes of Hopkinton, Rev. Mr. Cutler,
of Auburndale, Rev- Amos Coolidge of Worcester, a native of
Sherborn and paster of the Congregational church in Liecester for
thirty -seven years, and Rev. H. J. Patrick, well known to Sherborn
people by his frequent occupancy of Pilgrim pulpit.

Rev. Mr, Cutler was just starting for his train when his name
was called, and he paused on the platform below the pulpit only
long enough to tell the story of a man whose wife pursued him with
suggestions and offers to “hold him on,” while he was learning with
much tribulation, to ride a bicycle. He ignored the offers for some
time, but at last retorted with energy, “If you can hold anything
won’t you hold your tongue !” Upon which Mr. Cutler departed,
leaving the audience to apply the moral.

Dr. E. E- Strong, a life-long personal friend of Dr Dowse,
spoke a few closing words, exceedingy impressive, although the
near approach of train time made some confusion in the room. He
referred to their long friendship in a touching way, and said that
they had walked from that house together to the grave of Dr-
Dowse ’s father, of his mother, of his wife, of his daughter; then ex-
tending his hand toward the pastor with an eloquent gesture, he
added with an impressiveness scarcely exceeded by any word that
had been spoken, “He is a good man.”

THE PROGRAM.

The audience then arose and sang a hymn, tune, “St.
Martins/’ written for the occasion by Rev- Edward N. Pomeroy of
Wellesley.

The words of this song and also those of the poem by J. J.
Loud, who wrote a similiar poem for the fortieth anniversary of
Dr. Dowse’s pastorate, are published in another chapter of this
book.

The benediction was pronounced by Dr. Sturgis in the absence
of Dr. Webb, who had been invited and was expected to take this
part.

The exercises closed with a selection by the orchestra, which
rendered during the exercises the following program of music:

OVERTURE, .... Mirei'le, .... Gounod •

REMINISCENCES OF “THANNHAU3ER Wagner,

romanza, Svendson-

HUNGARIAN RHAP30DIE, ....... Brahms-

ANDANTE FROM QUARTETTE in Bb, ..... T SCha rkowski •

grand march, ......... Lachner *

Following the program exercises was a reception by the pastor,
somewhat shortened by the lateness of the hour and the near
approach of train time, yet nearly every one had an opportunity to
take the hand of the beloved pastor and no one neglected it, at
least Dr. Dowse’s right arm gave testimony to that effect the
next morning.

Of the nnny special invitations sent out several hundred
answers were received, about one third of which were acceptances.
From the long list received is published the names of nearly two
hundred, and they will be found occupying the pages following
the selection of letters from the more prominent people ; and in
this list will be found the greater part of those who attended from
a distance.

ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES'.

The names of those in the conference who were present it is al-
most impossible to give correctly, but there were representatives
from all the twenty churches included.

Anniversary

TSES.

PART ill*

-:e:=b A1SII D

ezfrcb.

Atm r ess or welcome.

Pearly beloved, brethren and sisters of the Pilgrim church of Sherborn:—

Allow me to express to you my high appreciation of the distinguished hon-
or and privilege which your Committee has conferred in requesting me to voice
She congratulations We bring to our honored Father and Elder Brother in the
ministry of the gospel, on this memorable and in some respects it n paraded oc-
casion. It has not been a frequent event in the history of the Christian church
that a minister should serve for sixty years as pastor of one people. Pastor-
ales of fifty or more years have not been so rare. We remember well the
grand patriarch, Richard Salter Storrs of Braintree, my nearest neighbor in my
youthful ministry. Dr. Emmons of Franklin died, two years after Dr. Dowse s
'ordination, at the advanced age of ninety-five. But he gave up the active du-
ties. of the pulpit in 1827, after fifty-four years of constant service. Dr.
Nathaniel Appleton was ordained pastor of the First church in Cambridge in
1717, and continued sole pastor until his death in 1784, a period of over sixty -
six years. Dr. Kellogg of our church in Framingham was in active service for
about fifty years. Dr. Jacob Ide, the son-in-law of Dr. Emmons, w s settled in
West Medway in 1814 and was pastor of the church for fifty-one years. Me
had forty young men prepare for the ministry under his instruction, among
whom was our brother whom we honor to-day. Has the memory of his be-
loved teacher helped him to continue steadfast and faithful in this church over
which the Chief Shephard placed him sixty years ago? But while such

A X X r V E USA R V EX ERCISES.

pastorates of even fifty years have been known in,every generation of the history
of the Church; who has lead or known of one like this, where the Tast< r has all
along been able to say so truly and as contentedly as did one of old, “I dwell
among mine own people.” It is one of the exceptions which prove the truth of
the old adage of the Master, “A Prophet is not without honor save in his own
country and in his own house.” For here is a Prophet, whom God raised up
and inspired for his work, and commissioned to deliver his message to his own
household and neighbors, his own kindred and schoolmates, among whom he
was born and trained and had grown up, those who had known him in his boy-
hood and young manhood, with that intimate knowledge which young people
have of each other Vet was he cordially received by them as their Pastor,
their religious Teacher and Minister and Guide. They accepted him as their
spiritual overseer, the bishop of their souls, in whom they put their loving con-
fidence, with whom they took sweet counsel, in whom they looked for and found
a wise counselor and genuine, loyal, sympathetic friend in every hour of distress
and need. And down through three score years the confidence has increased,
tbe tender and precious ties which bind a true Pastor to his people have been
growin" stronger and stronger, until today we witness this scene of the dear
Shepherd still actively watching over his beloved flock with all the depth of love
which a devoted father can cherish for the members of his household. And we
your neighbors and brethen in Christ come with great joy to express our full
svmpathy in your joy and invoke the richest of Heaven’s blessings upon both
Pastor and people. For this is what w-e understand by that word Congratula-
tion; the expression of our sincere pleasure in your jov. We rejoice most sin-
cerelv and heartily with you in that Kind Providence which has preserved the
life and health and strength of your Pastor, and has enabled him to serve you
these many vears with such unwearied fidelity in the ministry of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ. We know full well. that he will humbly and gratefully declare,
“Thus far the Lord has lead me on. Thus far His power has prolonged my
days.” And we join in the gratitude we know you all feel to the Giver of life
and strength for 1 1 is Supreme goodness. But from a human standpoin what is
the secret of this long pastorate? I think Brother Dowse unwittingly gave it to
me wnen I first came to Framingham. He told me that one of the prominent
men of mv church said to him, that a minister could stay there just as long as he
thought and acted as though his was the best church and town hereabouts or else-
where. Our Brother has loved this church and devoted himself first of all to

SPEECHES AND LETTERS.

its highest welfare. Not only to edify you by his pulpit services, but as a loyal
friend in your homes and as a citizen in the community. They tell me that
when the railroad was being pushed through from South Framingham to
Mansfield no one did more than he to secure its successful completion. You
know better than I how much time and thought he has given to keep your
schools up to the highest standards of excellence. And we of the neighboring
towns felt we were honoring one w'ho richly deserved the honor when for two
successive seasons we elected him a member <>f our State Senate. Others here
today can tell how much he has helped in the public counsels of our Common-
wealth as for so many years our Senate has called upon him to open their daily
sessions with prayer to the Almighty God, that he would “teach our Senators
wisdom.” Then again I think we younger men may get a lesson today in
another direction. There’s a sort of Paradox about our Brother. When I am
away from him and look over the records, and find that he was in college at
Amherst when my father was, and I compare the minutes of the churches with
our family bible and find that he was ordained three months before I was born,
and look up my records and find that I have been in the ministry thirty seven
years, I conclude Dr. Dowse must be a pretty old man. But when he comes
into the meetings of our Association, or when I meet him here and there in
social and public life he doesn’t seem old. I can’t make it seem true that he
has recently passed his eighty fifth birthday. 'There must be some mistake
about it. Why is it? Well, there never was anything slow about Edmund
Dowse! He has kept thoroughly up to date, in his thinking and living, in close
touch with the best life and thought of the present. I don’t believe there’s a
young man here whose heart and intellect are fresher and brighter than his.
He a’ ways will be young in his feelings, if, as w’e sincerely pray, the gracious
Providence keeps him here another ten years and some of us live to congratulate
him on the seventieth anniversary of his ordination.

There are many other lessens to be learned from this event but I forbear.
Some may think that sixty years is a long time to stay in a place no large i than
Sherborn. But Dr. Eowse’s parish has been widening with the passing years
I was with him at the meeting of the National Council in Chicago, and he came
in late to one of the sessions. One of the families of his church had moved out
there and its little one had died and who could minister to them as the dear old
home Pastor who had watch over them in their youth and married them and
sent them out into the w'orld with his loving benediction? And there are fam-
ilies all over the country who count him still as their own Pastor.

28'

AXNTYERLVKY' EXERCISES'.

So clearly beloved Father and Brother in , the Ministry, I bring to you>
heartfelt greetings of joy at your reaching this anniversary. The Brethren of
Old Middlesex South Association greet you ancj rejoice with you on the favor
of our Lord who set you over this people and has continued yon to them -so
long. The churches of our Coa ererie&.and of our good otd Commonwealth
congratulate you most cordially on the years of useful service which you have
tilled out so faithfully. The citizens of all this vicinage join without distinction
or party or sect or name in feelings and words of loving respect for you who>
have sought to promote the highest welfare of the state. May the promise be
yet more abundantly fulfilled, “With long life will I satisfy him, and show
him my salvation.” Lucies R. Eastman.

DR. DOWSERS RESPONSE,

Looking back from my present standpoint I have a deeper sense than ever
before of the presence and sovereignty of God in the affairs of the world. My
own foresight and plans for the future seem to have performed but a small part
in deciding the conditions of my life. My early training and education, my
ordination and settlement in the ministry in this town of my nativity, and mv
continuance in this pastorate for six decades, these have all seemed to be divine
appointments. I am still in God’s service and under His direction. Since my
fiftieth anniversary there has been no material change either in the state of the
e airch and people or in the labors of the pastor. My interest in the people and
my confidence that the word of God, applied by the Spirit, is indispensible to*
renew and save the human race, have been deepening and strengthening all
these sixty years. I am confident that Chrisc and the church are overcoming
sin and Satan and that the day of triumph is not far away. And what shall I
say of the future? If life and health are preserved I may work a little longer
but I leave this to the direction of God who has always led in his own right wav.
I preached my first sermon in Ashland and at the close of the service Deacon
Shepherd thanked me for the sermon and said, “You stopped in just the right
plat e.” When I get through my work I hope to stop in just the right place.

Now I close by thanking you all for every courtesy and kindness shown and
especially for the interest, care and labor in endeavors to make this anniversary
a success — a pleasure to yourselves and an honor to Christ and his church.

Edmund Dowse.

SPEECHES AND LETTERS.

ADDRESS BY HON. GEORGE G. CROCKER.

The people of the town have collected in the meeting house on a week-day
afternoon. The residents of other towns and cities from all parts of the Com-
monwealth, men and women, public officials and private citizens have left their
home, their occupations, and their pleasures and gathered here. It is a remark-
able accasion. It is not to crown with laurel some victor in the games. It is
not to celebrate an achievement in literature, science or art. It is not to con-
sider some great question of public interest.* It is not to sing the praises of a
hero of the war, — of a Sampson, or a Schley, or a Shafter, or a Hobson, or a
Dewey. It is not to listen to some great orator on a question of vital public in-
terest. No notable single act or thought brings us together and compels our
commendation. We do not meet in one of the great centres of population but
in a quiet and secluded country town. We meet within the sombre and severe
walls of a typical New England meeting house. This is not a funeral. We do
meet to pay the last tribute of respect to some widely known and honored citizen.
The occasion is not fraught with sorrow and weeping. It is not the spirit of
sadness but the spirit of joy which today tones the bell and gives voice to the
organ. We are not grieving for death. We are rejoicing in life. Happiness
and flowers are here, but it is not a wedding. We are not present to hear the
minister pronounce that blushing bride and rugged swain have been joined in
the holy bonds of matrimony and to feel coursing through our viens some thrills
of their ecstacy. No question of creed is to be settled; no minister is to be
ordained, and no debt is to be raised. The occasion is decidedly more unusual
than deaths or marriages or religious controversies or church debts or great ora
tors or heroes of the war. It is an occasion so unusual that is is unique in the
history of this town; it is perhaps unique in the history of the state, of the
country, of the world.

Is the occasion great as well as unique? Assuredly it is, and yet we do not
meet to celebrate the doing of great things. A blade of grass grows. It is a
little thing. We pass it by without noticing it. But one hundred million blades
ot grass will together carpet an acre with green. The work of any single day
of the pastor of this church amounts to but little, but add together the good
works of all the days of all the months of all the sixty years that he has labored
here and then we realize the value, the strength and the beauty of his life. He
has not striven for the extraordinary, — he has been faithful to the ordinary.
He has not sought opportunities to do great thing; he has been content to do

ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES,

little things. It is the multitude of the good and true little things he has done
which has brought us together today. Some trees like the palm, have great leaves
and but few of them. To such I would liken men who are famous because of
their great achievements. Other trees, like the elm and the oak, have smaller
leaves but the multitude of the leaves gives to the tree its character and beauty i
To the sturdy oak would I liken him in whose honor we meet today; an oak,
well rounded, and notable in the forest for the fulness and the beauty of its
foliage. With little things, with blades of grass, with leaves, with mustard
seeds, with drops of water and grains of sand, God accomplishes the beautiful
and wonderful in creation.

Doing one’s duty in little ways means that duty is dine for its own sake
and because it is right. To do one’s duty under the influence of glamor and
excitement is easy. Without these aids to spur the wearied limbs and the tired
brain, and to keep the conscience alert, the task is difficult. Loyally, steadfastly
and persistently, day in and day out, for sixty years, your pastor has done his
duty here in Sherborn.

Goethe lays down this rule of life: “Do the duty that lieth nearest thee.”
I would add to it two words: “Do the duty however small that lieth nearest
thee.” This I would suggest as an appropriate motto for this celebration — a
motto which has been followed through life by our honored chaplain and your
beloved and devoted pastor. George G. Crocker.

ADDRESS 1>Y HON. GEORGE E. SMITH, PRES. MASS. SENATE.

Mr. Chairman, Chaplain Dowse and Ladies and Gentlemen: — I feel em-
barrassed on this occasion in trying to speak from a pulpit, which I am not ac-
customed to doing, and especially from this pulpit made memorable by the sixty
years of your occupation of it, sir. I came here this afternoon to personally
offer my tribute of respect and affection to my esteemed Chaplain and your be-
loved pastor, Dr. Dowse.

This appears to be a most remarkable instance, and I feel greatly impressed
with the occasion. Here is a man who was born on this soil and who has lived
among this people for eighty-five years.

Season after season, week in and week out, for sixty consecutive years he
has been with you in sickness and in health, exhorted, instructed and led you as
pastor and gone in and out among you as your fellow townsman.

I am inclined to think not only that Chaplain Dowse is a remarkable man,

SPEECHES AND LETTERS.

but that he has dwelt among a remarkable people. The distinguished clergy-
man says this has proved an exception to the scriptural rule that “a prophet is
not without honor save in his own country.”

Your merit as a people is, that having among you a prophet, you knew and
appreciated his character and worth, even in his youth, and have not sent him
away into -a far country to reap his reward. He has been a member of your
school board for fifty eight years. Year after year you have re-elected him to
that important tffice. All ycur children in that long period have been under
his supervision.

The children whom he first met in your schools have grown to past middle
life and reared children of their own and grandchildren, who likewise have been
committed to that same kindly guardianship.

Yes, it is a remarkable instance. I fear the people of South Eastern Mid-
dlesex are not so constituted as to elect year after year for fifty-eight years even
Chaplain Dowse as their committee man.

It also astonishes me when I think that every month and week for full sixty
years your beloved pastor has brought to you fresh and interesting gospel
messages.

If the clerical gentlemen will pardon me, I will recall the prevalent, but
doubtless foolish, belief of the layman, that clergymen relieve themselves and
their congregations once in a few years by journeying to new parishes and peo-
ple, and turning upside down their barrels and mental recepticals and beginning
anew under altered and inspiring environments.

Here is Dr. Dowse, whose prayers and sermons have flowed out over the
same congregation with only one chance of trying his words on a new people.
The men and women who went in and out of these doors sixty years ago are
gone and a new generation gradually has come in to take their places. This is
the only change of congregation which your pastor has had.

But he has, by reading, by association with men, and above all by the liberal
drafts, which a well balanced mind can draw on the great foundation of know-
ledge, kept abreast of the times. He has said today he is no pessimist. The
wisdom, clothed in delightful language, which satisfied one generation, seems
by your action and appearance here today to more than satisfy the succeeding.

You have spoken of the Senate of Massachusetts, whose Chaplain he has
been for so many years. My distinguished predecessor, Judge Bishop, will tell
us how it was at the beginning of that service. I know that now he is held in

ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES.

high esteem and affectionate regard by all the members.

The chairman has said that for nineteen years he has been offering fervent
prayers that wisdom be granted that body. It is true that in his brief prayers"
he always prays that wisdom be given us from on high. But there are some
things that even an all powerful Father cannot grant, even in response to the
prayers of so good a man as our Chaplain.

But there is one thing for which the Massachusetts Senate may claim dis-
tinction among Legislative bodies. Its members are orderly, dignified and
kindly in their relations one with another, and with the people who appear for
legislation. As I have been looking at the benign figure and countenance of
our Chaplain, it has occurred to me that in large measure he may be accountable
for that habit which has become a tradition of the Senate.

He spends his days in this quiet and beautiful valley and drinks in that
“peace of God which passeth understanding,” and when he comes up to the
State House and walks about the Chamber and corriders and is with us in our
reading room, love and kindness radiate from his body and mind, as light and
heat radiate from the sun, and we absorb some of that kindly spirit.

Only a few of the present Senators are with us today, but whether present
or absent, I know that every one of them, and I fully believe all those three o r
four hundred men who have in years gone by been associated with our Chaplain,
would wish me now on this anniversary day to tender him the tribute of ou
affectionate regard. George E. Smith.

ADDRESS BY REV. D. \V. WALDRON, CHAPLAIN MASS. HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES.

A clergyman, rising to address an audience and hardly knowing what to
offer, as is the case with some of us here this afternoon, asked, “What shall I
say?” Whereupon a small boy raised his hand and volunteered the suggestion,
‘•Sav Amen, and sit down ! ” I can utter my hearty “Amen” to all that has been
said of our brother. Rev. Dr. Dowse, on this occasion, especially in reference to
the service he has rendered the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and I will
“sit down” in a very few minutes.

As the younger people in this congregation have been looking, not upon
Rev. Dr. Dowse who appears so youthful, but upon the men who have come
here to speak, they may perhaps have been led to repeat the words contained
in the address delivered by Daniel Webster at the laying of che corner stone of

SPEECHES AND LETTERS.

Bunker Hill Monument: “Venerable men! you have come down from a former
generation. Heaven has bountifully lengthened out your lives, that you might
behold this, joyous day.” That I have a place among these antiques may not
be due to the fact that it has been my privilege to preach the Gospel for thirty-
eight years, or that I have ministered to the same congregation at Shawmut
Chapel, Boston, for more than a quarter of a century, but I was probably invited
to be present because I have been Chaplain of the House of Representatives of
Massachusetts for twenty years. You will notice that this is a year longer than
Rev. Dr. Dowse has been chaplain of the Senate, but if we add the two years
that lie was a member of that body, we have twenty-one years in all as the time
he has been connected with our State legislature as Senator and Chaplain.- I hold
in my hand a paper containing the names of the clergymen who have served the
Massachusetts Senate as Chaplains from the year 1780 to the present time.
The list was kindly furnished to me by Senator A. S. Roe, who is with us this
afternoon. It bears the names of sixty-five clergymen, and among them are
many who were distinguished in their ministerial career. With a few excep-
tions each served a single year. The Rev. Peter Thatcher, however, was Chap-
lain from 1783 to 1789 and from 1792 to 1802, making sixteen years in all, the
longest period that the office has been filled by any one person except by Rev.
Dr. Dowse. I have been doing my best to get ahead of him, but it looks more
and more as if I would be defeated in the contest and that my brother would
wear the badge of honor for having rendered the longest public service.

It is said that a membsr of our National Congress was asked bv his son, if
the Chaplain prayed for the members each day? To this question the fathe r
replied, “No, he looks at the members and prays for the country.” I do not
think there has been any occasion for Chaplain Dowse to follow this example in
his service in the chamber of our State Senate. It is a pleasure to bear witness
that in our Halls of Legislation there are many godly men who seek divine
help in solving the problems presented to them. The daily prayer is not the
petition of one man, but of many who believe in God and believe in invoking
I Iis aid in the discharge of public duties. I can also say, not hastily, but after
due consideration, that in the sessions of the Legislature of Massachusetts, in
the twenty years I have served as Chaplain of the House, I have not heard any
more irreverent remarks than one would hear in attending at many praver
meetings.

Reference has been made by my brother who presides to the brevity of tha

ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES.

prayers offered. His remarks remind me of a woman who went to the gallery
of the House of Representatives one day to hear me pray, and said that I had
finished before she had time to lift her hand to cover her eyes. In the Scrip-
tures we are assured that we are not heard for our much speaking. In setting
an example of brevity we have sometimes exerted an unexpected influence. A
minister who was a member of the House of Representatives, came to me after
he had been in the Legislature several weeks, and said, “I want to thank you
for your brief and comprehensive prayers. I have commenced to try and shorten
my invocations, and when I succeed, I am going to see what I can do with my
long prayers.” I have often wondered how he succeeded. I suggested once to
a representative, that the prayer of the publican, “God be merciful to me a
sinner,” was very brief, and he said, “Do not offer that prayer for the members
would not liked to be classed with sinners.” I am sure that Rev. Dr. Dowse
has prayed not only that wisdom be given our Senators, as we have been re-
minded today, but has also prayed that their sins might be forgiven and the
Commonwealth might put away “the sin that is a reproach, and pursue the
righteousness that alone exalts.” May such prayers, in behalf of us as individ-
uals and in behalf of the State whose citizens we are, continue to be offered and
answered.

You will all agree that if the voice of prayer that is heard in our homes, and
in our churches, and in our halls of legislation, were hushed, that if the truths of
the Bible were to cease to be proclaimed from our pulpits, studied in our Sunday
schools, and embodied in the lives of our people, in another sixty years, nay, in
a quarter of a century, you would witness a great change in the character of the
people who dwell in the cities and towns that nestle among the hills and in the
valleys of our beloved Commonwealth. Therefore, my closing word is, let God
still be acknowledged and His wisdom sought in our legislative halls, let the
music of the Sabbath bells still call the people of the Commonwealth to public
worship, let the voice of adoring praise and prayer still ascend to heaven from
our public altars and private firesides, let the great doctrines of Revelation con-
cerning sin, the certainty of penalty, the mission of Christ, and solemnities of
eternity continue to be proclaimed. Then we may hope that we shall more and
more become “that happy people whose God is the Lord,” while there shall
continue to flow from our Commonwealth streams of life and salvation to make
glad the world, hastening the time when the kingdoms of this world are to be-
come the kingdom otour Lord and of His Christ.

SPEECHES AND LETTERS.

May we do our part to usher in this blessed consummation, and at length
have a part in the “new song,” and in “the rest” that will be so welcome and
eternal. Daniel W. Waldron.

ADDRESS OF REV. N. VANDER PYL.

I have been trying to think why I should have been called upon to speak,
and I have come to the-conclusion that there are two things of which Sherborn
is intensely proud today, and the first of these is Dr. Dowse and the second that
Holliston was once a part of its domain.

There are three institutions for which Sherborn is destined to become
famous : the great cider mill on its south border, the Reformatory on its north
border, and in the centre between the two, Dr. Dowse, with a flaming sword in
hand to intercept the progress of men from the southern institution to that one
on the north.

In these days of sermon eating, when men filled themselves with sermons
as the man in the book of Job filled himself with the east wind, it means some-
thing to stand in the same pulpit for sixty years. It reminds one of the days of
old New England, when the “son succeeded the father in the pastorship of the
little white meeting house, and never leaving his charge until he was carried
nut and laid away in the shade of the elm and chestnut trees in the burying
ground beside the church.” To be present at the birth, officiate at the marriage
and minister at the grave of well-nigh two generations of men and women is a
unique privilege, and I sometimes wonder if the methods in these days of
peripatetic pastors, who move from place to place like tinkers in search of
wares to mend, are any improvement upon those of the fathers.

There is something almost romantic in this occasion to me. It seems pass-
ing strange, when I think of Dr. Dowse preaching from this pulpit twice the
years of my own existence. What changes have taken place, what important
events have occurred ! I was born into the world. (Well, friends, you smile,
but I assure you that was a very important event in my life.) I think of the
hogshead of sermons he must have on tap, and compare it with the little keg
which contains the vaporings of my own brain. I try to imagine the agony of
spirit, which Dr. Dowse must have experienced again and again, as he cudgeled
his brain for thoughts which were not there, and launched his spurious offspring
into the world on the following Sabbath, stillborn. Oh, the dark days, when
the muse will not light to inspire our lay, when our thought has crystalized

ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES,

within us, and we look forward to the coming Sabbath as a day of doom. I
think of this extended over sixty years, and then wonder what manner of man
this is who has survived the fearful ordeal.

There are undoubtedly many compensations in long pastorates such as these.
To have a place called home, to give one’s children the feeling of pride in the
place of their birth, to have a lot in the church yard where we may lie at last
beside the companions of our childhood, youth, and manhood, to leave the im'
press of one’s life and teaching upon two generations of community life is the
privilege of only a few. Most of us come to town when a child is born, some of
us are off before it is ready to be baptised. We are wanderers on the face of
the earth. The foxes have holes, the birds of the air have nests, but many a
minister has no permanent place to lay his head. From all these wanderings
Dr. Dowse has been happily free. And added to this theae has been the dig-
nity of a country pastorate. Most of us are ordinary toads, and can create con-
sidarable commotion in a small puddle, where it would be impossible for us to
cause a single ripple on the surface of the gaeat broad ocean. No doubt Dr.
Dowse would have been successful in a city pastorate, and yet I doubt whether
he ever could have moulded life in the city as he has moulded it here in Sher-
born. We who have country pastorates can go to bed serenely evory night with
the sublime assurance that the church and nearly all its members will be there
the next morning, and that is more than the city fellows can say. People in the
country stay, and a pastor has a chance to impress his life and thought upon
them. Then, too, the New England country pastor has not lost his grip on
things. There still exists a place for him on the Board of Library Trustees
where many shape the reading tastes of the town. There is still a place for
him on the School Board, if he behaves himself and stays in town long enough,
where he may assist in shaping the mind and the heart of all the children.
There is a score of ways he may impress his life and personality upon the
town.

To be sure there are some compensations also in short pastorates. Besides
the opportunity of shooting forth again his cold thunder and stale enthusiasm,
there is also the exhilaration of not knowing obstacles in the new field. In
fresh fields we “rush in where angels fear to tread,” as I have undoubtedly done
in taking a position on the School Board, concerning whose contentions Presi-
dent Smith has spoken. But then after all let us have the long pastorate with
its glorious memories, its far-reaching influences.

SPEECHES AND LETTERS.

Dr. Dowse, I bring you the greetings of the church in Holliston. The
large number of Holliston people here today show our interest in you ; we still
recognize you as our bishop; we dare to say we love you. When you spoke
the words of welcome to me on the occasion of my installation over the daughter
church, I recognized then, as never before, that

“Age is opportunity no less

Than youth itself, tho’ in a different dress ;

For as the evening twilight fades away,

The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day.”

I love to associate you with the sweet and strong pastors of whom Chaucer
and Goldsmith has sung. For of you alas is it true, as Goldsmith says of the
village parson,

“And as a bird each fond allurement tries
To tempt its new-fledged offspring to the skies
He tried each art, reproved each dull delay,

Allured to brighter worlds and led the way.”

And so with loving heart and sincere pride, I bring
daughter church to you and to the church of which you
tinguished pastor.

the greetings of the
are the revered, dis-
N. Vander Pyi..

ADDRESS BY REV. a. H. WELLMAN.

Mv friends, I give my hearty assent to all the complimentary and extraor-
dinary statements to which we have so gladly listened, yet I remain simply over-
whelmed in view of that which has made these remarkable words and this
unique occasion possible. A pastorate of sixty consecutive years! Such a
pastorate, too. consummated by a man who was born here, and grew up among
the people to whom he was called to minister ! 'Phis probably cannot be
paralleled. True, our honored brother, at the very opening of his ministry had
a full and accurate acquaintance with his people, knew all their antecedents,
pecularities and needs, an advantage attained by most pastors only after long

years of exhausting pastoral service. Many a pastorate has proved a failure
simply because the minister did not know lvs people In this instance the peo-
ple too from the outset knew their pastor, and had known him from his child
hood. Many a ministry is a failure simply beciuse the people do not under-
stand and often misjudge their minister. Yet even with these great advantages
on the side of the pastor, it still remams tru* that “a prophet is not without

ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES.

honor save in his own country and in his own house.*’ So the more we think
of it, the more; the wonder of this pastorate grows.

Brethren, it seems to me that this prolonged pastorate tells of character. It
speaks well for this pastor, and likewise well :or this people. This sixry years
pastorate could not have been, had not this people been a thoroughly good peo-
ple, kind, patient, helpful, disposed to see all the good things in their pastor and
nothing that was bad. I have had no acquaintance with this parish. I was
never, I think, in this town until today. But I venture .to affirm that this
church during all these years has had good deacons. They must have been true
men, wise men, just men who have stood faithfully and lovingly by their minister.
And the man who has ministered here for sixty years has been, as we all know,
not simply an able man, a scholarly man and an eloquent preacher, but also a
thoroughly good man, seeking not only the best things for himself, but the best
for his people. Why, on my wav to this place today, I met with a woman of
good judgement who had resided in this town many years, has been a member
of this church, and is a relative of the pastor; and she, speaking to me of him,
magnified his goodness, his character. “He is the best man I ever knew/’ she
exclaimed. And she ^ave an instance of his kind self-sacrificing ministrations.
It was a service rendered in cold mid-winter, and in the night, to one of the
humble families in his flock, three miles away, in the time of their need and suf-
fering. It is these personal, self-sacrificing Christly acts that make long pas-
torates. Anything, indeed, that goes to make good character in the pastor and
in the people will prolong their union.

We all have heard much lately of our ponderous battleships and of their
powerful guns, and we are proud of them, and of what they have achieved. Yet
how often have we been reminded, by men who know most about the wonderful
structure and the amasing power of these massive warships, that after all, it is
the men behind the guns, and the man on the bridge, that make the huge bat-
tleships work. We have heard too for many years much about our Congrega-
tional Church polity. We think it nearer to that of the apostolic churches
than anv other church polity in existence, and we are proud of it. But we need to
be reminded, as we are reminded today, that after all, it is the people and the
pastor back of the church polity and back of all the organizations which now
go with it, that make them work. It is Christlike character in the minister and
the deacons, and in all the members of the church that makes our apostolic
church organization mighty for the redemption and uplifting of men, of the

SPEECHES AND LETTERS.

communitv and of the race.

And now. Dr. D >wse, rhv dear brother, I congratulate you upon vour won-
derful pastorate here. I have not been in the ministry as long as you have, but
I can appreciate such a pastorate as you have had with this church and pet pie,
and I can love a good brother minister like you. A. II. Wellman.

ADDRESS BY REV. T. J. HOLMES

There has been frequent reference in the addresses this afternoon to the fact
that this is an exceedingly rare occasion. It is difficult perhaps for young peo-
ple in the audience to realize that, a generation or two ago, such a pastorate
would not have seemed so very remarkable. I had the privilege once of serving
a church in Connecticut in which the old fashioned idea prevailed that a minis
ter was not simply hired by his people but was married to them. When, after
being with them, myself for ten years, I proposed to go away, a woman, one of
their pillars, asked with surprise what my reason was. To the suggestion that I
might be of more use in another church to which I had been called, she replied,
“I do not understand it at all ; it seems to me just as though a man would say
to his wife and children some morning at breakfast, 'I love you all dearly but
feel obliged to resign my relation to you in view of a call which has come from
some other family where I may, perhaps, be more useful ! ’ ”

Her conception of the ministry suggests the olden time* but it has a striking
illustration in the pastorate which we honor today.

We even who have been associated more or less imtimatelv with Dr. Dowse
find it difficult to believe that he has really been on duty here so long. We
cannot fully take in the fact, the significance of such a ministry, its toils, trials
joys, sorrows, its dear memories of the past, its blessed hop-*s for the years, for
the eternity to come. But we can at least understand, in a measure, what
mutual love and respect there must have been to make such a relation
possible. We have known our brother well enough to appreciate the devotion
with which he has so long and so faithfully fulfilled his office. At a meeting of
our Association several years ago, he remarked quietly : ‘T believe that God is
building up His kingdom and I am willing He should build me up wherever and
however He has a mind to.” That was characteristic. lie has always been
ready to be used in any service where he might count the most. And may not
such a patient, restful frame have heiped to preserve the vigor of body and of
mind which has been so rare. A biographer of Mr. Gladstone, referring to an

ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES,

4 0

inscription over the mantlepiece in his dining room, “Thou will keep him in per-
fect peace whose mind is stayed on thee” emphasized what he called the hygienic
value of Christian faith; — urging that the “grand old man” kept his health be-
cause he kept his faith in God. May not that principle have worked with our
brother, according with the promise: “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew
their strength:” “As thy days so shall thy strength be.”

One suggestion which perhaps this occasion has for us all, ministers and
everybody, is this: That if we want, when our time comes, to grow old grace-

fully, to keep growing, to keep young, the way is to let God use us wherever and
however he has a mind to, only asking that he will give us the joy of knowing
that he is building us somewhere, unto the Kingdom that is everlasting,

T. J. lli.LMKS.

ADDRESS BV REV. R. K. HARLOW.

I have c »me here to bring the c >agri:ul ui > is of nw church, which was or-
ganized one month before this pastorate commenced and with whose principle
events you, sir, have been associated. I come to bring co you the congratula-
tions of your college classmate and long time friend, Hon. M. M Fisher, the
senior deacon of mv church, whose imfirmities prevent his presence here today
and I am glad to extend my personal felicitations on this unique and unmatched
celebration.

I am sympathetic with the reminiscent tone of this occasion for I celebrate
on Saturday the thirtith anniversary of my ordination to the Christian ministry
(twenty seven years of which have been spent as pastor of the neighbor church
in Medway) I have attained one half the altitude that v m have reached — a >t in
the quality, but only in the duration of that service.

We have been reminded again and again by previous speakers that this
is unique — I venture the prediction that it never will be sampled — that the
twentieth century will see no half century pastorates even. Churches and pas-
tors are beginning to celebrate tenth anniversaties of ecclesiastical marriages as
if that were an notable event. How callow ten years seems alongside of
sixty.

Your parish has been called a rural parish and inconspicuous. This pastor-
ate has made it notable and brought honor alike to pastor and people. Sher-
born is the most conspicuous town in the Commonwealth today — the secular
press will give this event a wide publicity — and the religious weeklies all over
the land will comment upon it; these decade celebrations keep Sherborn before

SPEECHES AND LETTERS.

the people. While this parish has been the centre of your service, it has not
bounded that service, neither has your ministry been confined to ecclesiastical
functions, but in all efforts for the public good your helpful service has been
rendered. Allusion has been made to your efforts in promoting the building of
Mansfield, Framingham & Lowell R. R. Branch. I understand you prayed,
three times in public, for that enterprise, in different stages of its progress.
(Dr. Dowse, “that’s so.*’) That may account for the prosperity of that railway
I wish something could now be done, Doctor to make it run its trains on schedule
time, and to lesson its immense Sunday traffic.

As you mentioned the fact, that a delegation waited on you, and informed
you of your nomination to the State Senate from your district, I am reminded o
the dignified manner in which Mr. McKinley, two years ago was conducting his
presidential camp ign; he remained at his home in Canton, and let the people
who wished to see him, come to him, till Canton was the Mecca of thought and
pilgrimage; so you have remained in Sherborn, at home, to all that needed you
and ready to respond to the appeals of the church, the town, the state, the
nation, and in these multitudinous labors you have enlarged yourself, your spheie
of influence.

When a student in Amherst College, I used to look with interest on a
mammouth stone book in the Geological Museum. Its leaves were flakes of red
sandstone quarried in the Connecticut valley, which Pres. Hitchcock had ordered
trimmed to regular shape and hinged together with iron clasps. On those
leaves were the foot prints made by gigantic birds, or reptiles, or beasts, nobody
knows which; this we do know, that thev came down to the rmr. and stood on
its smooth, hard, wave-washed beach, long enough to leave an impression, then the
silt of the river settled into the tracks, and afterward the sun or the subterranean
heat baked them into stone, and ages afterward the geologist pried the layers
apart, and showed the impressions and their reverse “laid in the rock forever.”
Dr. Dowse has stood in one place long enough to make lasting impressions.
Some ministers do not stay long enough anywhere, or have ii"t weight enough —
one or both these lacks to make abiding records.

You, my honored friend, have been making impressions, not on tables o
stone, but on the fleshv tables of the heart; the full measure of which you will
one day know, when the results of influence are revealed, and those, who through
your ministry have entered into r. st, >hall receive you into everlasting
h ibitations.

ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES.

ADDRESS BY REV. F E. STURGIS, D. D.

The celebration of the sixtieth anniversary of the settlement of Dr. Dowse
over this church is a phenomenal event, in certain elements without a human
parellel. But one in a hundred lives to sixty years of age, and yet this minister
spent his boyhood, got his early education, went through college, obtained his
theological preparation, which is an ordinary lifetimej and has completed a pas-
torate of sixty years since then.

What do these sixty years mean in pulpit and pastorate, in baptisms, bridals
and funerals, in social influence and fellowship, in educational interests, in politi
cal citizenship?

Sixty years of American history ! What events, changes, inventions, dis-
coveries since 1838. What a procession of Kings and Queens, Presidents,
Governors and Statesmen, in this and other countries! Sixty years! How
few, if any, are here today of those who witnessed his settlement. He has
buried the fathers and the mothers and how many of their children and grand-
children ! He is living with the great grandchildren of those who who were the
men of action when he w'as ordained.

Dr. Dowse is the youngest octogenarian I ever knew; no spectacles, no ear
trumpet, the hair of his youth, erect, vigorous in mind, his natural force hardly
abated, still in the pulpit, still at the front of every good cause, still interested
in all the affairs of the state and the nation. In all our ministerial fellowship I
scarcely know a man more companionable, more fresh in enthusiasm Through
cold and heat and flood and gale he goes regularly to his duties at the State
House. His modern life is shown in his mastery of all present day educational
themes and methods. His religious catholicity is shown in his perpetual office
of chaplaincy in the Senate, elected year after year, for his broad and brotherly
spirit, for the brevity and appropriateness and beauty of his prayers.

Instead of Dr. Dowse it should be Bishop Dowse, if not Archbishop
Dowse, for he is the patriarch, the metropolitan of all our churches. On his
shoulders has rested the care of so many of our parishes when thev have been
without pastors. No minister hereabouts is so often called upon for services
outside his parish, in marriages, in funerals. Delias served the living and the
dead in all this section of the country for sixty years, going night and dav, when
ever and wherever requested, and without reward. He is the most widely-
known, the most beloved, the most universally honored minister in this part of
the State. In how many of our homes and churches is his name a hou-ehold

SPEECHES AND LETTERS.

4*>

word, spoken with children’s reverence and remembered with tenderest gratitude
His character is an inheritance of faith, charity, righteousness in all this Eastern
Massachusetts. His life has ever been a manifestation of love, patience,
graciousness, friendship.

Honored citizen, devoted pastor, wise and edifying preacher, philanthropist,
educator, patriot, saint, we greet thee on this happy day; we bring thee our
reverence and effection, and congratulate you on this useful and prolonged life.

F. E. Sturgis.

A FEW OF THE MANY INTERESTING LETTERS.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Executive Department,

Boston, Oct. 6th, 1898.

Frank T. Daniels, Esq.,

Sherborn, Mass.,

My dear Sir: — I beg to acknowledge receipt of your courteous invitation to
attend the sixtieth anniversary of the pastorate of Dr. Edmund Dowse, over the
Pilgrim Church of Sherborn, on Thursday afternoon, Oct. 13th.

It would give me much pleasure to testify by my presence to my high per-
sonal esteem for Dr. Dowse, and I regret that engigements already made com-
pel me to decline.

Please convey to him my cordial regards anu best wishes

Very truly yours.

Roger Walcott.

Springfield, Mass., Oct. 10th, 1898.

Mr. Frank T. Daniels,

Dear Sir: — Please accept mv heartv thanks for vottr cordial invitation to
attend the eelebration of the pastorate of Dr. Edmund Dowse over the Pilgrim
Church of Sherborn, Oct. 13th.

My engagements on that day are such that I shall be unable to be present.
It will indeed be a notable occasion worthy of commemoration. I most heartily
join with the great multitude of friends of Dr. Dowse in extending to him (rest
wishes for a continuance of health and strength and with the fervent hope that
his life may long be spared, and that the choicest blessings of 1 leaven may al-
ways abide with him. Yours truly,

W 1 1. 1.1 am II. Haile.

navy department, Washington, Oct. 5, 189S.

Mr. Fratd< T. Daniels,

Mv Dear S r: — I wish to express to you my thanks for your kind thought in
sending me an invitation to attend the celebration of the sixtieth anniversaty of
the pastorate of Dr. Edmun I Dowse, over the. Pilgrim Church of Sherborn, on
Thursday, October thirteenth The occasion will b- a very interesting one to
the great number of people who are Dr. Dowse’s friends, and I am happy to
count mvself among those who have long been gratified with his ministrations in
the State Senate. It is with regret that I find ihe demands upon my time are
such as to prevent my being present. Very truly \oqrs,

ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES,

Boston, Oct. ii, 1898.

Mr. Frank T. Daniels,

Dear Sir; — An engagement in court, I regret to say, will prevent my at-
tendance at the celebration of the sixtieth anniversary of the pastorate of my old
friend, Dr. Dowse. Pray do me the favor to present my congratulations, and
express my sincere regrets that I cannot do it in person. Yours truly

Patrick A. Collins.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT, Boston, Oct. II, 1 898.

Mr. Frank T. Daniels:

I regret the impossibility to be present at the sixtieth anniversary of the
pastorate of Dr. Edmund Dowse, over the Pilgrim Church of Sherborn, on
Thursday afternoon, October thirteenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight at
two o’clock. Yours truly,

E. P. Shaw.

Boston, Oct. 6, 1898.

Mr. Frank T. Daniels,

Dear Sir: — Your kind invitati< n to attend the celebration of the sixtieth
anniversary of the pastorate of Dr. Edmund Dowse over the Pilgrim Church of
Sherborn on Thursday afternoon, Oct. 13th is at hand. I regret very much to
say that I expect to be out of the State at that time, or I would gladly attend. I
have a very kindly appreciation of the great services Dr. Dowse has performed
not only for the church in Sherborn, but in other walks in life, and 1 would be
very glad to testify my appreciation of those services by my presence on this
occasion if it were possible. I trust you will extend my congratulations to Dr.
Dowse, and I wish him every success in his work. Yours trulv.

John F. Fitzgerald.

Boston, Mass., Oct. 6, 1898.

Mr. W. B H. Dowse.

Dear Sir: — In reply to your note I must say that I am now so much under
the weather that I feel quite uncertain about my ability to go to Sherborn as I
would like. I have been laid up two weeks and though I come out a little I
am very careful. If I feel well enough I will go, but it is quite uncertain.
Your father is one of those great and lovable characters who impress themselves
on all who come in contact with them, who seem to be scattered here and there
over the world for the express purpose of supplying examples to mankind of
how to live and act If I do not go, please extend from me to your father my
congratulations and kindest wishes for his happiness and lengthened life.

Very tuny,

Geo. A. Bruce.

Boston, Oct. 7, 1898.

Bro. Dowse: — Just before receiving you letter I had mailed a reply to Mr.
D iniels’ invitation, saying that I feared that business engagements would pre-
vent me from attending your father’s anniversary, which otherwise I would be
most happy to do, — with a brief expression of my “sentiments I wish I might
attend, and am much obliged to you for the invitation to speak, but I have a case
set for trial next Monday which is likely to goon through the week, and which
involves the attendance of so many people that I should not feel warranted in
breaking it offt even to treat myself to the pleasure of so interesting and remark-
able an occasion. Very truly yours,

SPEECHES AND LETTERS.

Marblehead, Mass, Oct, 6, 1898.

Mr. Frank T. Daniels,

Dear Sir:— 1 regret exceedingly that circumstances will prevent my accept-
ance of the very kind invitaton to attend the celebration of the sixtieth anniver-
sary of the pastorate of Rev. Edmund Dowse over the Pil rim church at Sher-
born. A pastorate such as that is alike creditable to Mr. Dowse and the people
in whose behalf he has labored, and those who know him best are aware that
he is worthy of all the love and veneration which his parishioners can possible
l) estow upon him. In common with all who have sat under his ministrations in
the Massachusetts Senate I have always entertained for him a high regard, and
rej >ice that a fitting demonstration is to be made in his honor. Please present
to him and to the parish my sincere congratulations. Thanking y°u for your
courtesy, I am very truly yours, Samuel Roads Jr.

Eoston, Mass., Oct. u, 1898.

Mr. Frank T. D.mit Is.

My dear Sir: — It his been mv intention to be present at the sixtieth anni
versary of the pastorate of Rev. E Imund Dowse on Thursday next, but the Con-
gress of the Loyal Legion of the United States, of which I am a member will
hold its session in Boston at that time, and [ fear will prevent my attending.
Nothing would give me more pleasure than to join with the manv friends of
Chaplain Dowse in honoring him <mthis memorial occasion. For thirteen years
I have been associated with him as an officer of the legislature, and my life has
been made brighter and happier bv it The cordial grasp of the hand and the
kind words he has spoken as we met, have made the days of my official life past
more pleasantly. He has seemed to never grow old, possessing as he does, ali
his faculties, and he is an enjovable companion to all with whom he is associated
I trust his life may be spared for many years, for life like his is a blessing to all
who have the honor of his acquaintance. Very truly yours,

John G. B. Adams,

amherst college, Amherst, Mass, Oct. 12, 189S.

Mr. Frank T. Daniels,

My Dear Sir: — In the absence of the President I have been requested to
acknowledged your kind invitation to the Faculty to be present at the interesting
services of tomorrow. At this time and with the pressure of college woik it is
not practical for us to be present by a representative. We assure you however
of our cordial interest in the event you celebrate. A pastorate of sixty years
must be without precedent in this century. We congratulate our alumnus
Dr Dowse on the long career of usefulness which has been granted to him, and
we congratulate the church on the undisturbed relations which has existed
through two generations. We can faintly imagine the ties which join pastor and
people and the tender expressions of affection which this anniveisary will call
forth. Thanking you for your remembrance of us and wishing you, both pastor
and people, joy in this event and for the years to come. fours truly

Henry Preserved Smith.

Essex, Conn., Oct. 13, 1898.

My dear Mr. Dowse: — Accept my congratulations on this sixtieth anniver-
sary of the beginning of your pastoral work in Sherborn. You have made a
wonderful record and, I trust, will live and be blessed with strength to continue
your good work for years to come. Mrs. Allison joins with me in kindly
regards. Sincerely yours,

J. Francis Allison.

ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES.

4(3

Jaffrey, N. H , Oct. 8, 1898.

Mr. Frank T. Daniels,

Dear Sir: — It would give me great pleasure to be present at the sixtieth
anniversary of the pastorate of mv much beloved Chaplain of the Senate of 1883,
but circumstances are such I shall not be able to attend Please present to him
my kind regards with the hope that his life may be spared manv years more to
work in the noble calling of uplifting humanity. Yours truly,

Benj F. Cutter.

New York, Oct. 17, 1898.

Dear Dr. Dowse: — I wish I could have been in Sherborn on the thirteenth.
Forty-three years ago I presented myself in vour study for examination as to fit-
ness to become the teacher of the “South End” school. I knew that my qualifi-
cations were not what I believed a teacher’s ought to be. and it was with no little
trepidation that I aw ii:ed t ie iudgme it of you sdf and R*v. Mr.D >rr. The de-
cision was momentous, for upon it depended whether my own education could
go on in the way it had been laid out. Your approbation wns given and from
that moment I received from vou unvarying kindnes and support. If I was able
to do anything for the boys and girls of Sherborn it was because I felt you were
strengthening me. The recollections of those days have been among the most
precious of my treasures and I never recall them without the deepest gratitude
to you. I hope for many years you may continue to bless and uplift your people.
With great respect and effection, I am very truly yours,

Fisher A. Baker.

South Boston, Oct. 6, 1898.

Mr. Frank T. Daniels,

My Dear Sir: — Your courteous invitation to be present on the occasion of
celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of the pastorate of Rev. Edmund Dowse, is
received. It would aff ird me great pleasure to be present on that occasion and
join with vou in celebrating this event but I am prevented by a previous engage-
ment. Allow me, however, to extend mv hearty congratulations to the reverend
gentleman whom I learned to admire and respect manv years ago, and whose
cheerfnl, cordial greetings of the present day bring back pleasant memories of
the days that are gone. Very respectfully,

John B. Martin.

Medway, Mass., Oct. 8, 1898.

Mr. Frank T. Daniels,

Dear Sir: — As classmate with Rev. Dr. Dowse at Amherst College in
^3 2-3, of whom a verv few survive, and having before and since a prolonged
acquaintance with him it would gratify me very much to be present at the
sixtieth anniversary of his pastorate in Sherborn and to met others in various
relations with him who mav be present to do honor to him and his people on
such a marked occasion, in these days of restless change, as the sixtieth pastor-
ate of a Chiistian minister in the same community, and now past eighty-five years
of age. It surpasses that of my former pastor, (of blessed memory) Rev. Na-
thaniel Emmons, I). D Appro iching my own eiglrv-eighth anniversary it mav
be more than inconvenient for me to be present. Please communicate to him
my sincere interest in his long and useful life and mv desire and prayer for his
health and prosperity until the fruition of a better hope may become a reality.

Respectfully yours,

Milton M. Fisher.

SPEECHES AND LETTERS.

Boston, Oct. 7, 1898.

Mr. Frank T. Daniels,

Dear Sir: — I have received an invitation to the sixtieth anniversary of the
pastorate of Dr. Dowse over the Sherborn church, for which I send my hearty
thanks. It will be an notable occasion and I wish I could be present and add
my congratulations to the veteran pastor to those of the hundreds of other
friends who will pour them in upon him, but I have an engagement for the thir-
teenth that will prevent me from attending. I much regret it. Yours truly,

Wm. R. Sessions.

West Newton, Oct. 8, 1898.

Mr. Frank T. Daniels,

Dear Sir; — I sincerely regret that I shall be unable to accept you kind invita-
tion to be present at the sixtieth anniversary of the settlement of Dr. Dowse, my
former pastor. The minister of the church before I was born , I enjoyed his
ministrations throughout my early life, for which I shall never cease to be
grateful, and my love and esteem for him has only increased as the years have
passed. Please extend to Dr Dowse my congratulations on this rare occasion,
with the earnest wish that he may be spared to minister yet longer to his peo-
ple. Sincerely yours,

Harlan P. Barber.

North Adams, Oct. 8, 1898.

Wm. B. H. Dowse,

My Dear Sir: — I have been out of town and did not receive your letter of
the 5th inst. until today. I sincerely wish I could be present and join in cele-
brating your father's sixthieth anniversary as pastor at Sherborn. It cannot fail
to be an occasion full of peace and joy and sunshine. His presence in the Sen-
ate chamber was always a benediction to us all. Please give him my love and
best wishes. May God bless him and permit him for many years to come to
continue to exert a helpful and inspiring influence upon those about him.

Sincerely yours,

George P. Lawrence.

Augusta, Me., Oct. 7, 1898.

Mr. Frank T. Daniels,

Mv Dear Sir: — l thank you most sincerely for the kind invitation to be
present at the sixtieth anniversary of the pastorate of Rev. Edmund Dowse.
I shall ever remember the imperfect beginnings I made in Sherborn to follow
the footsteps of the Master and the kindly words and deeds extended to me by
the pastor and people o*’ Pilgrim church. I am very sorry that it will be im-
possible for me to accept the invitation. Wishing vou all grace, mercv and
peace, I am Truly yours.

James S. Williamson.

So. Natick, Oct. 14, 1898.

Dear Dr Dowse: — I was at ihe wonderful meeting of your sixtieth anniver-
sary on yesterday. Feeling th it your heart, head and hands were full, I did not
seek you to offer my humble congratulations I hasten, therefore to extend to
you, first the good will and respect of the First Parish church; secondly, my
own great interest in and appreciation of vou as one who, for so many years has
been a faithful servant of God. — one who for so many, many years has follow the
Master in the good deed and kind word, thirdly; and in spirit, I look into your
aged but serene face, take you bv the hand and say, “God bless and be your
strength forever and ever. Levkrett R. Daniels.

A N NIV EES A RY EXERCISES.

ORIGINAL HYMNS.

Tune: St. Martins.

Thy servant’s work, O Lord, has made
Its threescore years complete;

And still his trophies here are laid
At the Redeemer’s feet.

Thy ministers have changes seen,

Their peoples variance known ;

But these have mutual toilers been
And reaped the harvest sown.

Their Leader they have ne’er forgot ;

His way their ieet have gone ;

Weary and faint, but faltering not,

Their movement always on .

They stand to-day as those who stood
And viewed the promised land:

Before their face the frowning flood,

Above them Heaven’s command.

Lord when the appointed hour shall come,

The call that none doth spare ;

This shepherd and this flock lead ho ne
To join their kindred there.

Rev. Edward N. Po.mes.ov.

Tune: Duke Street.

Now unto him whose watchful love

Hath blessed this church these years three score,

Shall thanks be given, shall prayers ascend
And praise on wings of song shall soar.

Grandsires and sires and children, all,

Only one Pastor’s voice have known;

Have followed but one Shepherd’s call,

This flock from youth to old age grown.

One hand baptised the infant’s b row,

Led with paternal care his youth,

In marriage registered his vow,

Guides his gray hairs in paths of trnth.

“For life,” not for a “term of years,”

On the old “Pilgrim plan” approved,

This pastor’s settlement has stood;

May Heaven still bless the tie beloved.

John J. Lour>.

SPEECHES AND LETTERS

OTHER LETTERS WERE RECEIVED FROM THE FOLLOWING:

Rev. E. H. Chandler, Welles-
ley.

Hon. S. S. Blanchard, Boston,

Hon. J. M. Moore, Gardner,

Prof, and Mrs. E. A. Read,
Kalamazoo, Mich.

Rev. F. N. Peloubet, Auburn-
dale,

S. J. Fletcher, Wellesley,

Hon. James Pierce, Boston,

“ Starkes Whiton, Boston,
G. W. Stockwell, Sutton,
“ H. J. Boardman, Boston,
“ Hon. Wilton Read, Fall
River,

“ E. C. Milliken, New Bed-
ford,

Rev. Robt. T. Gordon, Wes-
ton,

Mrs. Mary D. Hutchins, So.
Framingham,

Mrs. Henry Forest, So. Fram-
ingham,

Mr. and Mrs. C. H. Breech,
Newton,

Hon. Stephen N. Crosby, Bos-
ton,

Mrs. Martha Dowse Converse,
Brooklyn,

Warren F. Gregoi y, West New-
ton,

A. P. Averell, Reeds Ferrv,
N. H.,

Rev. Calvin Cutler, Auburn-
dale,

Rev. N. Vanderpyl, Holliston,

Mr. Walter Blanchard, West-
boro,

Rev. Theoda J. Holmer, IIop-
k inton,

Rev. Lucius R. Eastman,
Framingham,

Rev. W. Woodbury, Milford,
Hon. J. S. Howe, Methuen,

“ G. C. Travis, Boston,

“ A. D. Fessenden, Town-
send, Mass.,

Rev. A. H. Coolidge, Wor-
cester,

Mrs. R. G. Lowey, Wash,,
Mrs. M. C. Mason, Natick,
Hon. A. S. Roe, Worcester,
Hon. Wm. Hodgkins, Somer-
ville,

Mrs. Fanny Whitney, South
Framingham,

W. H. Howe, Chicago,

Mrs. Alexis French, Brookline.
Mr. L. B. Hoit, Worcester,
Hon. C. H. Ladd, Springfield,
Edmund Dowse Bigelow, Kan-
sas City,

Wesley Bigelow, New York,
Mrs. M. J. Hill, West Newton,
Rev. G. A. Brock, Saxonville,
Rev. F. E. Sturgis, Natick,
Judge and Mrs. G. E. Adams,
Boston,

Azro M. Dows, Lowell,

A. W. Dows, Lowell,

Hon. Clarke P. Harding, West
Med wav,

“ John Fletcher, Aclon,

G. L. Howe, Dover,

Eben Williams, Milford,

Mr. and Mrs. L. Clark, Millis,
Miss E. Dowse Davis, Pit s-
field,

Mrs. W. S. Dadmun, Worces-
ter,

Mrs. M. B. Davis, Pittsfield,

J. J. Loud, Weymouth.

Rev. W. Rouse, So. Sudbury,
Mrs. Carrie Stewart, Hollision,

50.

A N N l VE RS AR Y EXE RCI 3ES

Hon. C. F. Cronin, Boston,

Dr. and Mrs. C. H. Cook,
Natick,

Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Chaffin,
Worcester,

Edwin G. Chaffin, Worcester,
Miss Virginia Dox, Worcester,
Mr. H. Bigelow, Worcester,
Wm. C. Strong, Newton,

Hon. A. Harding, Boston,

C. Gleason, New Brain-
tree,

Hon. G. M. Hoyt, E. Braintree,
Rev. D. Evans, E. Braintree,
“ L. B. Goodrich, Marlboro,
“ Alex Ide, West Medway,
Mrs. M. W. Austin, Newton,
Mrs. A. Meming, W. Newton,
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Dwight,
Auburndale,

Miss Dwight, Auburndale,
Edward Fletcher, Wellesley,
Rev. Prescott Fay, Saxonville,
*• L. M. Hannum, Cam-
bridge,

Mrs. Nathan Allen, Newton,
Ed. I. Leland, Boston,

Rev. L. R. Daniels, So Natick,
F. W. Haynes, Portland,

Mrs. C. W. Horner, Wash.,
Mrs. C. R. Fisher, Hartford,
Mrs. A. Bigeiow, Southboro,
Henry H. Sprague, Boston,

Dr. T. P. Pruden, Brad’s W. P.
Rev. S. L. B. Speare, Newton,
Edwin F. Wyer, Woburn,

Mrs. J. Vandervoorl, Dorches-
ter,

Ernest W. Roberts, Chelsea,
Mis. M. B. Loud, Weymouth,
Hon. Geo. P. Ladd, Spencer,
Wm. H. Brigham, Hudson,
Mrs. M. E. Taft, .Springfield.
Miss Edith Barnes, Noithboro,

B. Lenney, Georgetown, O.,

E. G. Frothingham, Haverhill,
Mrs. E. T. Leland, Amherst,
Rev. W. D. Leland, Lowell,
Mrs. E. M. Pratt, Wendell,
Thos. P. Root, Barre,

J. Francis Allison, Essex,

Eben Williams,

C. S. Randall, New Bedford,
Ex. Sen.

F. G. Fessenden Esq., Dedham,
Mr. and Mrs. C. H. B. Breck,

Boston,

Henry M. Phillips, Springfield,
Chas. S. Lillev, Lowell,

J. LL Sherburne, Esq., Boston,
Alonzo H. Evans, Boston,

Chas. B. Rice, Boston,

Wilson H. Fairbank, Warren,
i Rev. A. C. Thompson, Boston,
Rev. Edw. L. Shute, Ware,
A. F. Whiting, Whitinsville,
Daniel F. L. durber, Newton
Centre,

Rev. George A. Hood, Boston,
Thos. J. Hastings, Worcester,
H. S. Nourse. So. Lancaster,
Pi. A. Monk, Campello,

Nath. T. Allen, West Newton,
Dr. Webb,

Jas. N. Rolfe, Newburyport,
T. A. Merrill, Malden,

E. B. Atwood, Plymouth,

J. P. Jordan, Boston,

Fred Willcomb. Ipswich,

Mr. Shaw, North Chelmsford,

D. H. Ives, Holyoke, M ass.,
Miss Abbie H. Hill, Quincy,
Wm. H. Haile, Springfield,
Chas. H. Allen, Boston, Pres.

Home Savings Bank,

M. Galen Bowditch, Chelsea,
L. L. Chamberlain, Esq.,
Brockton,

SPEECHES AND LET PELS

51.

H .P. Barber, West Newton,
Mr. Boynton, Medford,

J. D. Kingsbury, Bradford,
George H. Monroe, Boston
Herald,

John F. Fitzgerald, Boston,
Howes Norris, Cottage City
and Boston,

T. Baxter W.iite, Highland,
N. C.,

B. F. Southwick, Peabody,
Lucius Field, Clinton,

George P. Sanger, Boston,

C. F. Brown, Esq., Reading, j
H. Kendricken (Paul) Boston,
Thomas Dowse Peck, Pittsfield,
J. O. Neill, Fall River,

Mrs. M. W. Hall, Auburndale, i
Amos W. Dows, Lowell,

Mrs. Henry Fleming, West
Newton,

J. L. Austin, Taunton,

Isaac N. Keith, Sagamore,

Miss Fletcher, Keene, N, II.,
C. A. Campbell, Chelsea,

Miss Eleanor Paul, Rogers
Hall, Lowell,

Mr. and Mrs. C. F. Dowse,
Boston,

A. H. and Mrs. E. W. Lathrop,
Worcester,

M. C. Chase, Westboro,

E. O. Jameson, Boston,

Benj. F. Cutter, Jaffrey, N. IL,

N. VV. Everett, Wareham,

H. G. Kemp, Cambridgeport,
Hon. Chas. H. Allen, Boston,
Mrs. E. J. Bigelow, Boston,
Mrs. Dora C. Adams, South
Framingham,

Mrs. Bigelow, Southboro,

Mrs. Mary Horne, Watertown,
Mrs. E. Phipps, Watertown,
Miss M. E. Dowse, Malden,
Miss M. Brigham, Watertown,
Mrs. Stella Wilson, Dorchester,
Mr. W. P. Bigelow, Natick,
Rev. E. N. Pomeroy, Welles-
ley,

Mrs. Hanks, Wellesley,

A. Avery, East Braintree,

Rev. A. H. Wheelock, Millis,
Rev. John Wood, Fitchburg,

APPENDIX.

AN ABRIDGEMENT OF THE AUTHOR’S
“FIFTY YEARS A PASTOR.”
1888.

PART I.

The Church.

Ecclesiastical History in Sherborn begins at an early
date. The town was incorporated in 1674, and for several
years following the attention of the people was more or less
concentrated upon secular matters. In 1677, however, the
affairs of the town were in a more settled state and the
inhabitants began to turn their thoughts to the spiritual
needs of the community. Public worship was first setup at
the house of Captain Joseph Morse and there continued
until a meeting house was built in 1685. The church was
organized on March 26, 1685, but its doings were not offici-
ally recorded until 1734. We find, however, an account of
the formation of the church and ordaining of their first
pastor in a diary kept by Judge Sewall, one of the early
inhabitants of the town, which reads as follows : ‘‘Thursday,
March 26, 1685. Went to ye gathering of ye Chh. in Sher-
burne and ordaining of Mr. Daniel Gookin, their pastor.
But 6 brethren, and 3 of the name of Mors, Mr. Wilson (of
Boston), Mr. Adams (of Dedham), and Mr. Nathnl. Gookin
(of Cambridge), managed the work. Mr. Nathnl. Gookin,

II.

ARPENDIX.

the younger, introduced the elder ; a happy type of the call-
ing of ye Jews.” Twelve other clergymen were present,
and “twelve fellows of the college. Only Major Genii.
(Gookin) and self of Magistrates. No revelations were
made, but I hope God was with them.”

Rev. Daniel Gookin was the eldest son of Hon. Daniel
Gookin, Esq., and was born in 1750. He was a good scholar
and noted divine, and was for many years a Fellow of Har-
vard College, where he graduated in 1669. The degree of
A. M. was conferred upon him in 1673. He was a friend of
John Eliot, whom he greatly assisted in Indian missionary
work at Natick, and it is probable that it was while engaged
in this work that he became acquainted with the inhabitants
of Sherborn. He was pastor of the church for thirty-four
years, and, as a colleague said of him, was “diligent in his
studies, tender of his flock and exemplary in his life.” His
death occurred on January 8, 1717-18, and his remains were
laid in the Central burying-ground. A head-stone bearing
the following inscription marked the spot : Here lyes ye
Body of ye Rev. Daniel Gookin, Pastor of ye Church of
Christ at Sherburne, who died January ye 8th, 1717-18, in
ye 68th year of his age.”

In 1 710, owing to the ill health of Rev. Daniel Gookin,
Rev. Wm. Baker, a colleague, was formally engaged as an
assistant. On the death of Rev. Mr. Gookin. Mr. Baker
succeeded him as pastor of the church without further or-
daining ceremonies.

Rev. Mr. Baker was a native of Dedham, born in 1 666,
graduated at Harvard In 1706, and died while still pastor of
the church in 1731. Like his predecessor, he was a diligent
and faithful worker in spiritual labors, and regarded his little
flock with the greatest tenderness. 1 1 is remains were placed
beside those of Rev. Mr. Gookin in the old Central bury-
ground.

THE CHURCH.

III.

On April 25, 1734, three years after the death of Rev. Mr.
Baker, the church and town, by a unanimous vote, made
choice of Mr. Samuel Porter to be their next gospel minis-
ter. He was born in Brookfield, Mass., 1709, and graduated
at Harvard in 1730. He came to Sherborn from Hadley and
was ordained on the fourth Wednesday (23) of Oct., 1734.
He died Sept. 16, 1758, in the forty-ninth year of his age,
having been an earnest, faithful and much honored pastor
for twenty-four years. His remains were interred beside
those of the first two ministers of the town.

Rev.‘ Stephen Minot succeeded Rev. Samuel Porter, but
probably preached but a few months and was never ordained.

Rev. Samuel Locke was the next ordained minister and
was installed in Nov. 1759. On March 21, 1770, he was
inaugurated president of Harvard University and was, of
course, obliged to resign his pastorate. He held that high
position but three years, when he resigned and returned to
Sherborn where he opened, and conducted successfully, a
classical school. Pie was born in Lancaster, Mass., Nov. 23,
1732; graduated at Harvard, 1755, and died of apoplexy on
January 15, 1 777, in the 45th year of his age.

On Sept. 1 9, the town concurrred with the church by
choosing Elijah Brown pastor of their church.

Rev. Elijah Brown was born at Waltham, May 31, 1744;
graduated at Harvard 1764, and died October 24, 1817. lie
was succeeded by the Rev. Shearjashub B. Townsend, a
graduate of Brown university, and an able and highly culti-
vated clergyman. He was born at Barrington, R. I., April
14, 1796, and died July 20, 1832. After a service of eleven
years his health failed and it* became necessary that he
should have a colleague. A difference of opinion yrose be-
tween the church and the society, the former desiring Trini-
tarian, while the latter wished for liberal or Unitarian
preaching

APPENDIX.

Accordingly, on the ioth of February, 1830, a petition to
William Farris, or either of the Justices of the Peace in the
town of Natick, was signed by twelve male inhabitants of
the town of Sherborn, in behalf of a majority of the church
and a minority of the congregation, requesting that “a war-
rant may be issued, in due form of law. for the purpose of
forming a second religious Congregational society in said
town.” The signers were Daniel Leland, Asa Clark, Ben-
jamin Dowse, Daniel Leland 2d, Amory Babcock, Benjamin
Bullard, Aaron Coolidge, Jonathan Fames, Jonas Green-
wood, George B. Hooker,. Walter Barber, Europe Fay. A
warrant was issued on the next day by Samuel Fiske, Esq.,
of Natick, and on the 2zd of the same month the society
was duly organized.

At the meeting called for this purpose of which Asa Clark
was moderator, it was moved, after much deliberation, that
a second religious society be organized upon the condition
that every exertion be first made to agree with the First
Parish, and settle a pastor over the entire town as hereto-
fore. The motion prevailed by a unanimous vote. The
meeting then proceeded to organize and elected the follow-
ing officers : Clerk; Daniel Leland ; Treasurer, Benjamin J.
Dowse ; Collector of Taxes, Jonathan Eames ; Parish Com-
mittee, Daniel Leland, Daniel Leland 2d, Aaron Coolidge.
It was also voted that the Parish Committe, with three
others, Benjamin Bullard, Benjamin Dowse and Asa Clark
be a committee to confer with the town, and settle if possi-
ble the existing difficulty. . They were unsuccessful, how-
ever, in their effort ; the organization was therefore made
permanent, and from that time forward there have been two
churches and two parishes in Sherborn Centre.

Business and religious meetings were held in a hall in a
building of Joseph Sanger’s until the completion of a church,
nine months after the separation. The first business meet-

THE CHURCH.

ing after the formation of a second religious society, was
held on March 20th, 1830. The next meeting was held on
March 30th, 1830. The subject of building a meeting-house
came up for the first time at this meeting. A building com-
mittee of three, Daniel Leland, Daniel Leland 2d, Jonathan
Eames, and a committee for the purchase of land, composed
of Benjamin Bullard, Moses Sawin, Jr., John Twichell, Jr.,
were appointed, after which the meeting adjourned until the
second day after, April 1st, to give time for the committee
to work and prepare their reports. The committee, on land
reported that Mr. Bowen Adams had a piece of land contain-
ing 105 rods which he would sell for $200. This piece of
land the committee was instructed to purchase. We have
found no record of the report made by the building commit-
tee, but by a vote at that meeting the committee was
instructed to give out the building of a meeting-house by
contract to the lowest bidder, and was also directed to pub-
lish proposals in the newspapers for three weeks succes-
sively.

Col Harrington of Northboro, Mass., received the con.
tract for the work. The frame of the building was raised
on the eighth day of July, 1830, and it was dedicated on
November 4th of the same year. The size of the structure
was 60x40 feet and contained 64 pews. There was also a
small vestry on the east end, and a gallery for musicians.
The cost to the society for the meeting-house complete was
nearly $3,000.

On the day of the dedication, and in connection with it,
was held the ordination of the Rev. Samuel Lee, who had
accepted an invitation from the Evangelical Church, ex-
tended to him on September 30th, to settle with them as
their pastor. The sermon was preached by Dr. Nathaniel
W. Taylor, Professor of Theology in Yale College ; the
dedicatory prayer by Rev. Mr. Fitch of Holliston ; and the

VI.

APPENDIX.

ordainining prayer by Rev. Mr. Wood of Upton. The
charge to the pastor was made by Rev. Lyman Beecher of
Boston, father of Henry Ward Beecher, and the address to
the church and society by Rev. Mr. Pond of Boston. Rev.
Samuel Lee was born in Kensington, Berlin, Ct., and grad-
uated at Yale in 1 827, and afterwards at the Theological
Seminary, New Haven, Ct.

At the business meeting of the Second Parish society, by
which the building committee was authorized to proceed
with the erection of a meeting.house, it was also voted that
the society assume the name of the “Sherburne Evangelical
Society.” The society was known by this name until 1875,
when it was changed by an act of the Legislature to its
present name, “Pilgrim Society ”

The first meeting in the new meeting-house was held on
October 25th, 1830, ten days before its dedication.

P'or some months following the dismissal of Rev. Mr.
Lee, April 27th, 1836, the church was without a pastor. In
October following the church selected as a worthy successor
of Rev. Mr. Lee, Mr. Daniel Talcott Smith, a teacher of
Hebrew and Greek at Andover.

The ordination exercises were as follows : Introductory

Prayer, Rev. Mr. Stearns of Newburyport ; Sermon, Rev.
Dr. Dana of Newburyport ; Ordaining Prayer, Rev. Mr.
Fiske of Wrentham ; Charge, Dr. Ide of West Medway ;
Right Hand of Fellowship, Rev. Mr. Mclntire of Ashland ;
Address to People, Rev. Mr. Winslow of Boston ; Conclud-
ing Prayer, Rev. Mr. Rider of Saxonville.

Rev. Daniel Talcott Smith, or as he is now known, Rev.
Daniel Smith Talcott, having adopted his mother’s maiden
name, was born in Newburyport, Mass., in 1813. He grad-
uated at Amherst College in 1834, and afterwards at An-
dover Theological Seminary where he was engaged as a
teacher of Hebrew and Greek at the time of his tall to the

THE CHURCH.

VII.

church in Sherborn. His health had always been poor, and
after a year or more of service in the pulpit he was obliged
to take a vacation, Rev. Mr. Dowse, preaching during his
absence. On his return his health was but little improved,
and ere he nad been two years a pastor of the Sherburne
Evangelical Society, he tendered his resignation, desiring
his dismissal as soon as a successor should be ordained. By
unanimous consent of church and society Rev. Edmund
Dowse, a native of Sherborn, was invited to settle with them
as their pastor, and on October ioth, 1838 was ordained.
On the same day Rev. D. S. Talcott received his dismissal.
Soon after his resjgnation he accepted a professorship of
Hebrew and Greek at Bangor, Maine, which he held until a
few years ago, being again obliged by ill health to give up
his position.

Rev. Edmund Dowse was ordained on October ioth, 1838
with the following exercises : Introductory Prayer, Rev.

Mr. Cummings of Southboro ; Sermon, Dr. Ide of West
Medway; Ordaining Pra)er, Rev. David Brigham of Fram-
ingham ; Charge, Rev. S. Harding of Millis ; Right Hand
of Fellowship, Rev. Dr. Storr of Holliston ; Concluding
Prayer, Rev. Mr. Sessions of Needham.

From the organization of the Second Parish Church up
to 1838 music for Sunday service was furnished by musicians
in the gallery. At a meeting held that year the subject of
purchasing an organ was discussed, and finally resulted in a
vote of the parish to grant $500 for the purpose. The meet-
ing then adjourned and again convened on the next day,
July 2d, at which time it was voted to grant $200 for the
purchase of a bell, of which the society had been much in
need for some years, and the sum of $100 was raised by
subscription. The organ was replaced by a larger and bet-
ter one in 1854, and the bell, which had become cracked, by
the present one in 1863.

VIII

APPENDIX.

In 1848, following the custom of sister churches, the
church and parish voted to warm their meeting-house with
furnace heat, and a committee was appointed to take charge
of the matter. Two months later two furnaces of the best
make were in working order in the basement of the meet-
ing-house and furnished ample heat for the entire building.

Five years later the question of building a new meeting-
house came up, and after several meetings and much dis-
cussion, a committee was appointed and the whole matter
placed in their hands. This committee consisted of Amos
Bigelow, chairman, James Bullard and Nathaniel Dowse.
They were authorized to erect such a structure as they saw
fit, and devise means for procuring the money. The com-
mittee first examined the architecture of various churches
and hac. several plans made for them. They finally decided
upon one furnished by an architect in Worcester. Having
decided upon the plan, work was at once commenced. The
old building was moved forward twenty feet, and fifteen feet
toward the north, in order to bring it nearer the centre of
the lot. It was then raised ten feet for a basement. An
addition of twenty feet was then built on to the rear end,
and the building finished off in a substantial and elegant
manner, somewhat after the Corinthian order of architecture.

The spire, which is said to be the most beautiful in this
part of the country, was built directly over the old one,
which furnished a substantial base for it. The carpenters
employed by the committee were Mr. Amos Bigelow’s sons,
George and Amos, and they did their work in a thorough,
workmanlike manner as the condition of the building to-
day will testify. It was painted by a Mr. Bullard of Med-
field.

On October 10th, 1863, occurred the first celebration of a
birthday character ever held in the church since its organi-
zation. It was in honor of the twenty-fifth anniversary of

THE CHURCH.

the settlement of Rev. Edmund Dowse as a pastor, and was
largely attended by friends from far and near, twenty-six
ministers being present. During the morning session the
pastor delivered an address, giving an historical sketch of
the past twenty-five years At [ o’clock the ladies served a
bounteous collation in the vestry. In the afternoon the aud-
ience returned to the church and the time was spent in
listening to addresses from various persons. Rev. Amos
Coolidge, Rev. Samuel Lee, Rev. Samuel Lockwood, Rev.
Samuel Hunt, Rev. Wm. M. Thayer, Rev. I. N. Tar.box and
Deacon Daniel Leland were among the speakers. Mr. W.
W. Leland made an address and presented the pastor, in
behalf of the parish, with a purse containing nearly $100.

After the celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of
the settlement of Rev. Edmund Dowse, nothing further of
much importance occurred until 1873. On September 1st
of that year Rev. Edmund Dowse, Deacon Lowell Coolidge,
Deacon O. N. Barber, T. B. White and Emlyn Sparhawk
were appointed a committee to effect a c hange of name of
the Sherburne Evangelical Society. The committee made
the following report :

“In order to perpetuate the memory of the founders of
the church in Sherborn, we deem it advisable to name the
parish after the first pastor of the church, Rev. Daniel
Gookin, who was ordained at the time of the organization
of the church, March 26th, 1685. We therefore recommend
that the parish adopt the name of ‘Gookin Congregational
Society.’ ”

The parish voted to accept the committee’s report, but
deferred the adoption of the name until a future meeting,
and then adjourned until September 15th. After reading
the report of the action taken on September 1st, and freely
discussing the name proposed and others, it was voted that
the parish adopt the name of the “Gookin Evangelical

APPENDIX.

Society.” The clerk, Deacon O. N. Barber, was in-
structed to present a petition at the next Legislature asking
for the change of name voted by the parish. Before the
petition was presented, however, the parish voted to recind
the action adopting the name of the “Gookin Evangelical
Society,” and adopt instead the name of “Pilgrim Society.”
On March 20th, 1875, the Legislature granted the society
permission to make the desired change.

On October 10th, 1878, the fortieth anniversary or Rev.
Mr. Dowse’s pastorate was celebrated. The Boston Journal
of October 1 1, in speaking of the event, says :

‘ One of the pleasantest church reunions ever held in this
vicinity was that which occurred on Thursday in the Pilgrim
Church at Sherborn, it being occasioned by the fortieth an-
niversary of the settlement with the Orthodox people there
of Rev. Edmund Dowse, the veteran and popular pastor.
Rev. J. H. Temple [of Framingham was called to preside
over the morning deliberations, which he did most accept-
ably, and, after prayer was offered by Rev. H. J. Patrick of
West Newton, he proceeded to call out different clergymen
in response to sentiments, Rev. George A. Oviatt of Sud-
bury being the first to respond for the Union Evangelical
Church in this town, which was toasted as being the “Mother
of the Pilgrim Society.” Mr. Oviatt gave a very entertain-
ing historical address, which was attentively listened to, as
were also those of Rev. J. H. Temple Lucius R. Eastman,
Jr., of Framingham, Rev. Dr. Tucker of Chicopee, Rev.
Francis N. Peloubet of Natick, Rev. Edmund Dowse of
Sherborn, and Rev. A H. Cooliclge of Leicester. A hymn
composed for the occasion by Rev. George G. Phipps of
Newton Highlands was then sung by the congregation.

A splendid collation was served by the ladies at one o’clock,
Rev. Daniel Butler of Boston invoking the Divine blessing,
and at 2 o’clock the afternoon sesssion was begun, with Rev.

THE CHURCH.

Francis N. Peloubet of Natick in the chair. Addresses
were made by Rev. H. J. Patrick of West Newton, Rev. E.
E. Strong of Waltham, Rev. Jacob Ide of Mansfield, Rev.
Daniel Butler of Boston, Rev. Francis N. Peloubet of Natick,
Rev. Calvin Cutler of Auburndale, Hon. C. C. Esty of
P'ramingham, Deacon M. M. Fisher of Medway and others.

Some very fine music was rendered by the church choir
during both sessions. A pure white motto, “These forty
years the Lord thy God hath been with thee,” was placed in
the back of the church, while in front of the altar was one
as follows : “1838 — Our Pastor — 1878.” The interior of the
church edifice was very beautifully adorned with autumn
leaves, flowers and ferns, the work of Miss Emma Babcock
of Sherborn. The occasion was one of great interest, and
the character of it proved well the esteem in which the
subject of the gathering is held by his numerous friends in
New England.”

FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY.

October 10th, 1888, will be long and joyfully remembered
throughout the land as the coronation day of one who is
deeply honored and respected, and to whom all, both old and
young, look up to as a father and counsellor

We celebrate with frequency the half-century mark of a
lifetime ; less often the golden nuptial of a wedding day ;
with exceeding rarity the fiftieth anniversary of a pastor’s
labor ; but never before, in the history of Massachusetts,
has there been celebrated the semi-centennial anniversary
of a pastor whose labors, through all these years, have been
directly over the church and parish of his native town. Today
Dr. Edmund Dowse of Sherborn, the senior pastor of East-
ern Massachusetts, reached this high point of eminence.

On this day there gathered in this quiet, sedate, old town
of Sherborn, clergymen, senators, professors, merchants,
farmers ; men and women in the highest ranks of life and
in every branch of industry, from every part of the State, and
from many States, to do honor to this grand, seldom-occur-
ring event.

The expectant day dawned clear and bright, and though
not, perhaps, a perfect October day, soft, balmy and delight-
ful,— for the air was chilly and cold, black clouds obscured

XII

APPENDIX.

the sun in the afternoon, — was yet, withal, a pleasant day
and one on which all might venture forth. Early in the
day the streets were lined with the citizens of Sherborn, and
the first train from the north, arriving at nine o’clock, was
thronged with guests from surrounding towns. As they
slowly wended their way to the house of worship, in which
the jubilee was to be held, the bell in its tower, together
with that of its confrere, the white church on the hill, pealed
forth a joyous welcome. At the same time a salute of fifty
guns was fired on the common by six members of the Gen.
E. D. Wadsworth Post 93, 63, G. A. R., of Natick, who, of
their own free will, performed this act out of respect for Dr.
Dowse.

As the people- entered the vestibule of the church they
came face to face with a life size crayon portrait of the pas-
tor prettily draped with the American flag, beneath which
was hung the old English coat-of-arm for County Hants,
England.

The church was carefully and tastefully decorated by a
committee appointed from the parish. The walls were trim-
med with autumn leaves in all their brilliant colors and deli-
cate hues ; the platform was surrounded by potted plants,
ferns and cut flowers, while an anchor of elysiumsand pinks
rested on the base of the centre panel of the pulpit, over
which, on red silk, in gilt figures appeared ‘-1838-1888.”
Over the pipes of the great organ rested a pure white dove
of peace surrounded by a beautiful array of autumn foliage ;
suspended from the ceiling of the auditorium, on either side
of the centre, were balls of choice cut flowers. At the rear
of the church, beneath the gallery, and so arranged that the
eyes of the pastor would fall upon it as he entered the pul-
pit, appeared in large gilt letters, the inscription, “A Jubi-
lee Shall that Fiftieth Year be Unto You,” while below this
in the same style of work, but neatly placed in panels, were
the same dates seen in front of the pulpit.

Dr. Dowse arrived at the church a little before ten o’clock,
the hour for the opening of the exercises, and as he entered
the the pulpit he found both auditorium and gallery already
well filled with citizens and guests ; but still they came until
every available seat was taken. The aisles were also filled
and a number remained in the hall outside.

THE CHURCH.

XIII

The people, before being conducted to seats, were furnish-
ed with orders of exercises for the day. They were as fine
programs as could be procured and the committee who had
this work in charge may well be proud of them. They con-
sisted of four pages constituting the program proper, and
were bound in covers of heavy, pure white, Bristol cardboard
and each enclosed in an envelope. On the first page of the
cover, was a small engraving of the church placed between
the two dates, “1838 — 1888,” beneath which was the follow-
ing inscription, the whole being engraved on steel plates :

••And ye shall hallow the Fiftieth Year/’

EXERCISES

AT THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF
THE PASTORATE OF

DR. EDMUND DOWSE

OVER PILGRIM CHURCH AT SHERBORN
ON OCTOBER TENTH, 1 888.

On the second and fourth pages of the inside were the
original hymns composed for the occasion by Rev. Wm. M.
Thayer of Franklin and Rev. Geo. G. Phipps of Newton
Highlands. On the first and third pages were the exercises
for the forenoon and afternoon services as follows :

Wednesday Morning at Ten O'clock.

Organ Prelude, .... Geo. W. Summer, Organist

Orchestra ....... Germania

READING OF SCRIPTURES.

PRAYER.

RESPONSE.

Solo, ....... Mrs. Wm. Walker

Address of Welcome, .... Rev. A. H. Coolidge

ORCHESTRA.

ADDRESS BY THE PASTOR.

ORCHESTRA.

Address, . By Rev. G. M. Adams, I). I).

Original Hymn, ..... By Rev. G. G. Phipps
By the Congregation, 'rune : “Miriam.”

ORGAN.

COLLATION AT TOWN HALL FOR INVITED GUESTS.

XIV

APPENDIX.

Afternoon at 1.80 O’c/ocfc.

ORGAN PRELUDE.
PRAYER.

Response,

Solo,

Address,

ORCHESTRA.
SHORT ADDRESSES.

Original Hymn,

By Rev. W. M. Tl.ajer
Park Street. 1 ’

By the Congregation. Tune, '"'‘Park Street .”

BENEDICTION.

ORGAN.

Reception by ihe Pasior from 4 to 5 o’clock.

Evening.

Social Reunion in the Town Hall.

Before introducing A. H. Coolidge of Leicester, who gave
the address of welcome, Dr. Sturgis spoke of the pastor as
follows :

“We have met today to celebrate the golden wedding of
a pastor and his church, and as mutual vows are to be pledged
anew, many mutual obligations to be tendered, orange blos-
soms to be brought, and hearty felicitations on the part of
many friends to be expressed, neither the bride nor the
bridegroom wish to preside on so delicate an occasion ; so,
like many another modest couple, the y sent for the nearest
clergyman to officiate. And so it falls to my fatality or
felicity to preside on this jubilee occasion. It is a most
remarkable occasion. It is a most remarkable event to
celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of a pastor’s labors, and it
is well that there is gathered here so large a concourse of
people, — neighboring churches, visiting clergymen, sena-
tors, men representing the highest material in moral and
political life. It is a memorable and extraordinary day for
old Sherborn, probably the most famous day in its history,
and it is no wonder that the entire town turns out eu masse
to commemorate this most interesting festival. Throughout
the entire country Dr. Dowse is universally revered, re-
spected and beloved. During the fifty years of his ministry
he has been the one regularly called upon for miles about to
counsel the churches, marry the living and bury the dead.
By his rare and beautiful qualities of heart and life his,

THE CHURCH.

faithfulness, wisdom and grace, his public and private history
has gone into moral, political and educational institutions of
the State.”

During the interval between the sessions a banquet of the
daintiest viands was served in the town hall to more than
six hundred guests, provided by an accomplished caterer,
Harvey Blunt of Boston, and served by quiet and watchful
waiters, the band meanwhile regaling all with choice selec-
tions.

The first of a series of short speeches was made by Hon.
Geo. G. Crocker, ex-president of the Mass. Senate, who in
closing spoke as follows :

“The members of the Senates from 1880 to, and includ-
ing, the present year, during which time he has served as
Chaplain, and the members of the Senates of 1869 and 1870,
during which time he was a member of the Senate “in reg-
ular standing,” have desired in some substantial way to
express their respect for him and their admiration of all his
good qualities, among which may incidentally be mentioned
his remarkable staying powers, a virtuous characteristic
which public men think a great deal of but which very few,
alas, attain.

Senator Francis Bigelow of the neighboring town of Natick
undertook the work of giving to this respect and admiration
a tangible form, and he deserves and has your and our
thanks for so doing. He ought to be where I am now mak-
ing this presentation, and the only reason why he is not so
doing, is that he is even a more modest man than I am.

It gives me great pleasure, Rev. Chaplain, to present to
you in behalf of your associates in the Senate, something
which we trust and believe you will not be unwilling to re-
ceive, coming as it does a voluntary expression of friendship
and esteem.

That a man may be happy as a king, is the frequently ex-
pressed wish of friends, but we wish that you may continue
through all your life to have that happiness, far greater than
the happiness of kings, which comes from unselfish devotion
to the good of others, and while this little purse of gold will
not make your riches compare with those of kings, our earn-
est prayer is, that you may be richer far than kings in that
you may have no want which shall not be gratified.”

XVI

APPENDIX.

Dr. Dowse in reply said :

“I am sure that this is something which was not, so far as
I know, included in the program, but it is certainly a very
pleasant episode. We hear it said now and then that legis-
lation is procured by bribery, but I wish it understood that
I do not take it as a bribe. It is as heartily given, I have
no doubt, as it is heartily received.” The purse contained

$1 67-

Other short addresses were made by the following gentler-
men : Rev. Dr. Buckingham of Springfield, Hon. E. A.
Morse of Canton, Rev. Mr. Patrick of West Newton, Hon.
W. T. Forbes of Westboro, Nathaniel Allen, M. D., of Low-
ell, Rev. John Woods of Fitchburg, ex-Senator Charles F.
Gerry of Sudbury, Rev. Dr. Blodgett of Greenwich, and
Hon. Thomas Weston of Newton. Rev. M. Cowan of South
Natick read a letter from Prof. Tyler of Amherst, one of the
faculty of that institution when Mr. Dowse was a student
there, and the only one who has remained up to the present.
Dr. Sturgis also read a letter of congratulation from the
First Baptist Church of Natick.

The exercises were concluded by the audience singing in
grand chorus, to the tune of “Park Street,” the original
hymn by Rev. Wm. Thayer of Franklin. The benediction
was made by Rev. John Harding of Longmeadow.

Immediately after the service a reception was held by Dr.
and Mrs. Dowse in the church, where they received the con-
gratulations and well wishes of friends from far and near.

In the evening a social reunion was held in the town hall.
Appropriate remarks were made by various individuals, let-
ters of congratulations from absent friends were read, and a
collation served.

Thus was ended one of the most notable days in the his-
tory of the modern Orthodox church of this country. It
was a day that will ever be fresh in the memory of those
who were present, and will doubtless be recorded in history
as the greatest event ever celebrated in Sherborn.

REV. EDMUND DOWSE, D. D.

[From a photograph taken in 1888.]

PART II.

THE PASTOR.

REV, EDMUND DOWSE, D, D,

A Biographical Sketch.

The Dowse family is believed to have come originally
from Broughton, Hampshire county, England. Eleazer
Dowse came to Sherborn from Charlestown immediately
after the destruction of that town in 1775. He was a de-
scendant of Lawrence Dowse, who lived in 1650, and enjoyed
the peculiar esteem and confidence of some of the most
eminent -and excellent men of his day, in the colony. Eleazer
Dowse, according to tradition, was a man of natural refine-
ment and much moral worth. He married twice. First,
Eunice Dana; second, Mehitable Brentnall. He died in
1807, at the age of eighty years. His fourth son was Joseph,
son of his first wife.

Deacon Joseph Dowse, who followed the trade of his
father, a leather dresser, was a very discreet, amiable man,
and a devoted Christian. He served as a soldier in the
Revolutionary war and often related interesting incidents
concerning his army life. He was a brothel of the late
Thomas Dowse. He married Deborah Perry, daughter of
Moses Perry. His death occurred in 1839, while in his
seventy-ninth year. His eldest son was Benjamin, who
married Thankful Chamberlain of Sherborn. He resided in
Sherborn all his life, and for many years owned a pleasant

XVII I

APPENDIX.

farm in that part of the town known as Dowse’s Corner.
He was a great reader and possessed a very fine library.
He had five children, Edmund, William, Deborah, Perry
and Bejamin, all but two of whom, — Deborah, who died in
1851, and Perry, who died while a student at Amherst, — are
now living. Edmund has long been a family name, Sir
Edmund Dowse, living in 1625, in Broughton, Eng., having
left that town a memorial in the form of a charity school,
callled Dowse’s Charity.

Rev. Edmund Dowse was born September 17, 1813, on
his father’s farm in East Sherborn. It was the last house
in town on the old, and at one time the only, road between
Sherborn and Natick. Here Mr. Dowse was born and brought
up much like other boys of that time, working on the farm and
going to school. At that time the school districts now
known as the Plain and Centre districts were one, the school
house being very near the sight of the present residence of
Amos Bigelow. Mr. Dowse attended this school until twelve
years of age. He was then sent to a school kept by Rev.
Amos Clarke. The school-room was a hall over the store
and post office, which were then in a building owned by
Col. Sanger. It stood near the large elm on the north side
of Abijah Leland’s residence. Some years ago it was moved
to its present location and converted into the residence now
owned and occupied by Frank E. Hooker.

He attended this school for several years, then entered
Day’s Academy at Wrentham, where he went for two years
preparatory to a college course.

Rev. Edmund Dowse entered upon his college life at
Amherst in 1832, while in his nineteenth year, and graduated
with honor and good standing in 1836.

The class with which he entered college was, with but one
exception, the largest which ever graduated at that institu-
tion. It was remarkable for the high rank in scholarship of
its members, and the eminent positions in public life which
many of them attained in after years make it the most dis-
tinguished class Amherst has produced. It contained s.-ucli
men as Wm Bradford Homer, lately deceased at South
Berwick, Maine, who was perhaps, the most distinguished
graduate, and the valedictorian of the class ; ex-Gov. Alex-
ander H. Bullock of Massachusetts ; Roswell D. Hitchcock,

THE PASTOR.

XIX

president of the New York Theological Seminary ; Ensign
H. Kellogg ot Massachusetts; Judge L. C. Kellogg of the
Vermont Supreme Court ; Judge G. H. Doolittle of New
York; Nath. Allen, M. D., an eminent physician of Lowell,
and to whom Amherst College is largely indebted for its
gymnasium ; S. C. Damon, a missionary to the Sandwich
Islands, whose name is known throughout the world ; Rev.
John Woods of Fitchburg, who, with Rev. Mr. Dowse and
Dr. Allen, are the only members of the class living in Mass-
achusetts ; Alfred Ely, an eminent politician, and Rev. Stuart
Robinson, who died at Louisville, Kentucky, some years
ago.

Fifty years after the graduation of Dr. Dowse at- Amherst
College that institution conferred upon him the degree of
Doctor of Divinity. He received the title at the fiftieth
reunion of his class, in 1886, through the influence of Dr.
Allen.

In new England the schoolhouse has stood by the side of
the church from the beginning, for our fathers well knew
that ignorance and barbarism go h^nd in hand the world
over. The intellectual training and general intelligence of
our clergymen are usually regarded as fitting them to take
a prominent part in the regulation of our schools, and, from
the first, our pastors have found a wide and important field
of labor in examining the teachers and looking after the dis-
cipline and studies of our public institutions of learning.
To this service Dr. Dowse was called very early in his min-
istry. His habits of study, his love for order, his interest in
the young and his determination to do all in his power to
promote the common welfare made it eminently proper that
he should be the Chairman of the School Committee of
Sherborn, and for the comparatively high and progressive
character of the schools of that town the credit is largely
due to his wisdom, patient labor and long continued over-
sight.

In Sawin Academy, Sherborn has a very valuable institu-
tion of learning. In procuring its charter and endowment
as well as in laying deep and broad foundations for its per-
manent usefulness, it fell to the lot of Dr. Dowse to take
the lead, and to him are largely owing its present efficient
management, its well directed course of study and high
promise for the future.

APPENDIX.

In connection with this kind of public service for the
benefit of all the people of his town, mention may be made
of what Dr. Dowse has done for the neighboring churches
and for the South Middlesex Association and Conference.
The Ecclesiastical Councils which he had attended and in
whose discussions he has taken a prominent part, have been
very numerous, and no where else perhaps has his wisdom
been more apparent. During these years he has aided in
inducing into office five or more Pastors over a particular
church in the neighborhood, and this record has been sub-
stantially repeated in a number of cases.

Scarcely any one of our citizens has taken a deeper in-
terest in all measures adopted for material public improve-
ments in this part of our State during the last twenty or
twenty-five years than Dr. Dowse. All through his youth
and early manhood and for more than thirty years of his
pastorate, Sherborn had no railroad connection with the out-
side world. When the project for such a road from Mans-
field to Framingham was started, it seemed to promise re-
lief from trying conditions. But there were great difficulties
in the way, great and numeious obstacles to be removed,
before such a plan could be carried into execution. Such
was tne condition of things when Dr. Dowse threw himself
into this work with all the zeal, energy and wisdom he could
summon, and the success of the enterprise was due in no
small degree to his well directed and earnest co-operation.

That a clergyman who has a church and parish depending
upon him for religious instruction and guidance, has a right
to serve the State in a legislative capacity, provided his peo-
ple shall be properly cared for, is generally conceded, thodgh
for various reasons some doubt the expediency of such a
course. But other things being equal, the more intelligent
and virtuous the man the better fitted he is to assist in mak-
ing and administering the laws of our country. Our Legis-
latures, both State and National, have suffered because of
the lack of wise, unselfish, patriotic men in them, and Dr.
Dowse was plainly justified when he permitted himself to
be elected to the Senate of Massachusetts. He took his
seat in that body in 1869, and according to a custom pre-
vailing in many of the Senatorial Districts in our State he
was re-nominated and re-elected to the Senate of 1870. That
during those two years of service he did more than simply

THE PASTOR.

XXI

to perpetuate the power of the political party that elected
him, irrespective of the common good and the pressing
needs of the Commonwealth, all acquainted with his philan-
thropic and patriotic spirit well understand. His votes
were always given to maintain the supremacy of law and to
promote the highest welfare of the whole people. Serving
upon the Committee charged with the educational interests
of the State, his opportunity to influence legislation in favor
of sound learning was well improved, while every movement
to promote public morals found in him an earnest advocate.

Ten ) ears later he became the Chaplain of the Senate,
and ever since by an annual re-election, has served that body
in this capacity. This unusually long and uninterrupted
service in a position requiring so much wisdom, not to say
religious fervor and devotion, shows how Mr. L)owse is es-
teemed by the leading men of our Commonwealth. From
the adoption of our Constitution the Senate of. Massachu-
setts has been largely composed of -dignified, intelligent and
patriotic citizens, — men in whom party zeal has been gener-
ally subordinate to earnest purposes for the common welfare.

Rarely has a noisy and unscrupulous politician disgraced
that Legislative body, and it is understood that the election,
and from year to year the re-election, of Dr. Dowse as Chap-
lain of the Senate has been brought about largely by votes
from each of the political parties.

During the great Rebellion this pastor, like nearly all his
associates all over the North and West, was truly patriotic
and served his struggling countrymen in all possible ways.

Under the Christian Commission he went to Nashville,
Tenn., and entered with zeal upon the work of caring for
the sick and wounded soldiers, but the sudden death of Mrs.
Dowse rendered it necessary for him to return home after a
few days’ service.

Mr. Dowse, when first settled as pastor of Pilgrim Church
resided with his lather, but shortly afterwards purchased a
house nearer the church in which he has resided ever since.
He was married a few days before his ordination to Miss
Llizabeth Reeves Leland, a daughter of one of the deacons
of his church. She lived only a few years to work for the
Master, but endeared herself to all those who knew her.
She died June 1 6th, 1842, leaving a little one named for
her mother, Elizabeth R. L. Dowse.

XXII

APPENDIX.

Several years later all were pleased to know that their
pastor had selected his second wife from their midst. He
was married to Miss Elizabeth Bowditch, daughter of Galen
Bowditch, October 10th, 1843. She, for twenty years, was
a co-worker with her husband in home and parish. As the
war of the rebellion progressed she was very much interested
and assisted in every way she could. When Mr. Dowse
was called to join the Christian Commission and leave home
for the South, she was willing and anxious he should go. In
less than a week from the time he left home Mrs. Dowse
died of pneumonia. Those were sad days at the parsonage.

Again the parsonage was left without a mistress and it
seemed pleasant to learn, after a time, that a cousin of the
last wife would fill that place. Mr. Dowse was married to
Miss Caroline D. Davis, daughter of Hon. Jacob Davis of
Gardiner, Me., on Sept. 28th, 1865.

She has been at the parsonage for twenty-three years and
very many remember no other one in her place. All are
welcomed at her home and encouraged in every good work.

The eldest daughter, Elizabeth, was for many years an
earnest worker in the Master’s vineyard and her words,
works and songs will always be a pleasant memory. After
many years of sickness she died on August 23, 1876.

Priscilla Bowditch, aged six years, and Sarah Davenport,
aged twenty-two months, died the same year, 1850, both of
t-hem lovely and dearly beloved little ones. Deborah Perry,
the third daughter, has alway resided in Sherborn, having
married Lowell Coolidge, a manufacturer there. Mr. Cool-
idge is a deacon of the Pilgrim Church, and both he and his
wife are deeply interested in its welfare.

William Bradford Homer, only son, named fora classmate
of his father’s, is a successful lawyer in Boston. He married
Miss Fanny L. Reed, daughter of H. G. Reed of Taunton.

There are two grandchildren, Elizabeth Dowse Coolidge,
and Dorothy Dowse, 10 whom the parsonage is a second
home.

An account of the members of the family would be far
from complete if mention was not made of Miss Helen M.
Reeves, who came to live there when only six years of age
and has known no other home. She attended the public
schools, Sawin Academy, and Wellesley College and is now'
teaching.

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